Combined effects of engineered tendon matrix and GDF-6 on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell-based tendon regeneration

To examine whether an engineered tendon matrix (ETM) environment and growth and differentiation factor-6 (GDF-6) have synergistic effects on the tenogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and the quality of tendon repair. ETM and GDF-6 promote tenogenic differentiation of BMSCs in vitro. Implantation of GDF-6-incorporated ETM containing BMSCs into a tendon injury model significantly improved the histological and mechanical properties of the repaired tendon. GDF-6-incorporated ETM containing BMSCs represents a promising strategy for tendon injury repair.