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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2019. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Sep 26, 2019; 11(9): 677-692
Published online Sep 26, 2019. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v11.i9.677
Tendon stem/progenitor cell ageing: Modulation and rejuvenation
Guang-Chun Dai, Ying-Juan Li, Min-Hao Chen, Pan-Pan Lu, Yun-Feng Rui
Guang-Chun Dai, Min-Hao Chen, Pan-Pan Lu, Yun-Feng Rui, Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing210009, Jiangsu Province, China
Guang-Chun Dai, Min-Hao Chen, Pan-Pan Lu, Yun-Feng Rui, Trauma Center, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
Guang-Chun Dai, Min-Hao Chen, Pan-Pan Lu, Yun-Feng Rui, Orthopaedic Trauma Institute, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
Guang-Chun Dai, Min-Hao Chen, Pan-Pan Lu, Yun-Feng Rui, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
Ying-Juan Li, Department of Geriatrics, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China
Ying-Juan Li, Yun-Feng Rui, China Orthopedic Regenerative Medicine Group, Hangzhou 310000, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Dai GC conceived the idea for the paper and completed the majority of the writing; Li YJ provided assistance with writing and performed a search for relevant publications; Chen MH prepared the figure and table; Lu PP provided input during the drafting of the paper; Rui YF revised and proofread the paper.
Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, No. 81871812 and No. 81572187; National Natural Science Foundation of China for Young Scholars, No. 81201422; Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province for Young Scholars, No. BK2012334; “Summit of the Six Top Talents” Program of Jiangsu Province, No. 2013-WSW-054; Jiangsu Provincial Medical Talent, The Project of Invigorating Health Care through Science, Technology and Education, No. ZDRCA2016083; The Six Projects Sponsoring Talent Summits of Jiangsu Province, China, No. LGY2017099.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yun-Feng Rui, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, NO. 87 Ding Jia Qiao, Nanjing 210009, Jiangsu Province, China. ruiyunfeng@126.com
Telephone: +86-25-83262325 Fax: +86-25-83262350
Received: February 28, 2019
Peer-review started: March 4, 2019
First decision: August 1, 2019
Revised: August 15, 2019
Accepted: September 4, 2019
Article in press: September 4, 2019
Published online: September 26, 2019
Processing time: 209 Days and 14.7 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Tendon stem/progenitor cells (TSPCs) play an essential role in tendon maintenance, regeneration and repair. Recent studies indicate that an association between the decreased capacities of aged TSPCs and the impaired tendon functions observed with increasing age. In this review, we briefly discuss novel updates in research investigating TSPCs characteristics. Then, we summarize the epigenetic variations in TSPCs that occur with ageing and provide a detailed description of the pathways that play essential roles in the cellular ageing process. Finally, we propose potential methods to rejuvenate ageing TSPCs and provide additional therapeutic targets for the treatment of age-related tendon diseases.