The Roles of MicroRNAs in Tendon Healing and Regeneration

Abstract

Tendons connect the muscle abdomen of skeletal muscles to the bone, which transmits the force generated by the muscle abdomen contraction and pulls the bone into motion. Tendon injury is a common clinical condition occurring in certain populations, such as repeated tendon strains in athletes. And it can lead to substantial pain and loss of motor function, in severe cases, significant disability. Tendon healing and regeneration have attracted growing interests. Some treatments including growth factors, stem cell therapies and rehabilitation programs have been tried to improve tendon healing. However, the basic cellular biology and pathology of tendons are still not fully understood, and the management of tendon injury remains a considerable challenge. Regulating gene expression at post-transcriptional level, microRNA (miRNA) has been increasingly recognized as essential regulators in the biological processes of tendon healing and regeneration. A wide range of miRNAs in tendon injury have been shown to play vital roles in maintaining and regulating its physiological function, as well as regulating the tenogenic differentiation potential of stem cells. In this review, we show the summary of the latest information on the role of miRNAs in tendon healing and regeneration, and also discuss potentials for miRNA-directed diagnosis and therapy in tendon injuries and tendinopathy, which may provide new theoretical foundation for tenogenesis and tendon healing.

Comparative Effects of Exosomes and Ectosomes Isolated From Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Achilles Tendinopathy in a Rat Model

“…9 In relation to tendon repair and regeneration, miRNAs have been shown to be involved in regulating biological processes, such as cellular proliferation, inflammation, and homeostasis. 7 Therefore, we used small RNA sequencing to identify the miRNA profiling of 2 EV subtypes isolated from ASCs, and our results revealed a difference between the ASC-Ecto and ASC-Exo miRNA expression profiles, which could further discriminate the ectosomes from exosomes, as well as provide evidence for explaining their different role in the treatment of tendinopathy. This is consistent with a previous study that found that different EV populations vary in their miRNA composition.…”

Exosomes derived from magnetically actuated bone mesenchymal stem cells promote tendon-bone healing through the miR-21-5p/SMAD7 pathway

“…To investigate the mechanisms underlying miR-21-5p-induced fibrogenesis in the tendon-bone tunnel surface, we selected SMAD7 as a candidate gene. Studies have shown that the TGF-β/SMAD signaling pathway contributes to the tendon repair and adhesions [ [87] , [88] , [89] ]. TGF-β is a multi-functional mediator that regulates proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, adhesion, and migration in various cells, and TGF-β1 is considered a crucial mediator of tissue fibrosis [ 90 , 91 ].…”

Moderate evidence exists for four microRNAs as potential biomarkers for tendinopathies and degenerative tendon ruptures at the upper extremity in elderly patients: conclusion of a systematic review with best‐evidence synthesis

“…The search line included the following terms: (micro RNA OR miR OR miRNA OR microRNA OR circRNA OR circulating RNA OR ciRNA) AND (tendon OR tendinopathy OR tendinosis OR tendinitis OR tendosynovitis OR tenocytes OR ruptures OR connective tissue) AND (physiology OR pathology OR pathophysiology OR maladaptation OR load OR intervention OR adaptation OR baseline OR timepoint OR pre-post OR comparison). Additionally, the reference list of two previous systematic [31,32] and five previous narrative reviews [29,30,[35][36][37] within the particular research field were screened for further suitable studies. After duplicates were removed, the abstracts and full texts of the remaining studies were checked for their fit by taking the eligibility criteria into account.…”