ReviewCells2026
From Degeneration to Regeneration: The Evolving Landscape of Cell-Based Tendon Repair.
Review in Cells, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Tendinopathies represent a major clinical challenge. Vasculature, neuromuscular junctions, low cellularity, and slow extracellular matrix (ECM) turnover restrict endogenous repair and predispose injured tendons to fibrosis, mechanical weakness, and reinjury. Current therapeutic strategies including rehabilitation protocols, anti-inflammatory medications, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections, and surgical repair primarily address symptoms or structural deficits without correcting the underlying biological limitations of tendon healing. Cell-based therapies have emerged as a promising regenerative approach aimed at restoring tissue homeostasis through modulation of angiogenesis, collagen synthesis, immune responses, and tenogenic differentiation. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs), tendon-derived stem cells (TDSCs), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), differentiated tenocytes, and extracellular vesicle (EV)-based products have demonstrated the ability to enhance vascularization, promote type I collagen remodeling, suppress excessive inflammation, and stimulate tenocyte lineage commitment. These effects are mediated through paracrine signaling, growth factor secretion, and activation of key pathways, including HIF-1α, TGF-β/SMAD, NF-κB, and PI3K/Akt signaling. Despite promising preclinical data, significant translational challenges remain, including limited cell survival at the injury site, variability in cell sources and dosing, immunogenicity, risk of misdifferentiation, and lack of standardization across clinical protocols. Emerging strategies such as genetic modification, hypoxic preconditioning, scaffold-based delivery systems, and extracellular vesicle engineering aim to enhance therapeutic efficacy and reproducibility. This review synthesizes current evidence on cell-based tendon repair, critically evaluates mechanistic insights, clinical trials, and translational barriers, and outlines future directions toward biologically informed regenerative therapies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.