Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41463634›Full record

ArticleBioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)2025

A 3D ColMA-Based Tenogenic Microenvironment Unveils the Behavior of Tendon Stem/Progenitor Cells (TSPCs) from Tendinopathic Surgical Explants.

Giacomo Cortella, Erwin Pavel Lamparelli, Joseph Lovecchio, Emanuele Giordano, Nicola Maffulli, Giovanna Della Porta

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Giacomo CortellaDepartment of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4272-5953
Erwin Pavel LamparelliDepartment of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-9700-5809
Joseph LovecchioFaculty of Engineering, University Campus Bio-Medico of Rome, Via Alvaro del Portillo 21, 00128 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-4721-1388
Emanuele GiordanoLaboratory of Cellular and Molecular Engineering "Silvio Cavalcanti", Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi" (DEI), University of Bologna, 47522 Cesena, FC, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-8054-2875
Nicola MaffulliDepartment of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Sapienza University, 00189 Rome, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-5327-3702
Giovanna Della PortaDepartment of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Via S. Allende, 84081 Baronissi, SA, Italy.ORCID 0000-0002-1426-0159

Funding

Prof. Giovanna Della Porta FARB2024
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Tendon injuries present significant clinical challenges due to limited intrinsic healing and complex pathological mechanisms. Here, we developed a novel 3D bioprinted methacrylated type I collagen (ColMA) scaffold integrated with Growth Differentiation Factor-5 (GDF-5)-loaded Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles and dynamically cultured it under perfusion to establish a tenogenic microenvironment in vitro. Pathological human Tendon Stem/Progenitor Cells (hTSPCs) derived from tendinopathic surgical explants were encapsulated to investigate their impaired extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and associated pro-inflammatory signaling. GDF-5-loaded nanoparticles (average diameter 140 ± 40 nm) were fabricated via microfluidic-assisted nanoprecipitation and homogeneously incorporated within the ColMA synthetic ECM to enable sustained growth factor release. Continuous perfusion culture (1 mL/min) ensured efficient mass transfer and supported cell viability above 70% over 21 days. Pathological hTSPCs exhibited impaired ECM remodeling, characterized by the absence of type I collagen and a 2.56-fold increase in type III collagen at day 7, indicative of a fibrotic-like phenotype. Western blot densitometry demonstrated a 5.31-fold elevation in secreted tenomodulin at day 14, while ECM analysis verified a type III to type I collagen ratio of 4.5. In addition, a markedly pro-inflammatory cytokine profile was observed, with elevated secretion of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) from day 7 onward, consistent with the chronic inflammatory status of cells derived from pathological tendon tissues. This modular 3D platform represents a robust in vitro model for mechanistic studies and the advancement of personalized regenerative strategies targeting chronic tendon disorders.

Indexed as

3D bioprintingGDF-5-loaded PLGA nanoparticlesperfusion bioreactortendinopathy modelingtendon stem/progenitor cells (hTSPCs)

Identifiers

PMID41463634
PMCPMC12729981

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.