ArticleBMC molecular and cell biology2023
N-Acetyl-L-cysteine facilitates tendon repair and promotes the tenogenic differentiation of tendon stem/progenitor cells by enhancing the integrin α5/β1/PI3K/AKT signaling.
Article in BMC molecular and cell biology, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.
- ANGPTL2 overexpression promotes angiogenic responses in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells with accompanying integrin α5β1 molecular changes.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Recent advances in tendon redox biology: the interplay of oxidative stress, calcium signaling, and antioxidant defence mechanisms.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- The effects of N-acetylcysteine and adipose-derived stem cells on tendon healing in chronic rotator cuff tears: a rabbit model study.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2025Article
- Achilles tendinopathy.Nature reviews. Disease primers · 2025Review
- Therapeutic effects of chitosan/β-glycerophosphate/collagen hydrogel combined with MSCs on chronic achilles tendon injury via the Akt/GSK-3β pathway.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Article
- The Contribution of the Nrf2/ARE System to Mechanotransduction in Musculoskeletal and Periodontal Tissues.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
- Transcriptomic Profiling Reveals NF-κB-Associated Immune Regulatory Signatures Underlying the Regenerative Effects of Hypoxia-Preconditioned Tendon Stem Cell-Derived Extracellular Vesicles.BioFactors (Oxford, England)Article
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Authors and funding
13 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundTendon injury is associated with oxidative stress, leading to reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and inflammation. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) is a potent antioxidant. However, how NAC affects the biological functions of tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) and tendon repair has not been clarified.
methodThe impacts of NAC on the viability, ROS production, and differentiation of TSPCs were determined with the cell counting kit-8, fluorescence staining, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. The effect of NAC on gene transcription in TSPCs was analyzed by transcriptomes and bioinformatics and validated by Western blotting. The potential therapeutic effect of NAC on tendon repair was tested in a rat model of Achilles tendon injury.
resultsCompared with the untreated control, treatment with 500 µM NAC greatly promoted the proliferation of TSPCs and significantly mitigated hydrogen peroxide-induced ROS production and cytotoxicity in vitro. NAC treatment significantly increased the relative protein expression of collagen type 1 alpha 1 (COL1A1), tenascin C (TNC), scleraxis (SCX), and tenomodulin (TNMD) in TPSCs. Bioinformatics analyses revealed that NAC modulated transcriptomes, particularly in the integrin-related phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT signaling, and Western blotting revealed that NAC enhanced integrin α5β1 expression and PI3K/AKT activation in TSPCs. Finally, NAC treatment mitigated the tendon injury, but enhanced the protein expression of SCX, TNC, TNMD, and COLIA1 in the injured tissue regions of the rats.
conclusionNAC treatment promoted the survival and differentiation of TSPCs to facilitate tendon repair after tendon injury in rats. Thus, NAC may be valuable for the treatment of tendon injury.
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