Abstract
Purpose: Activation of fibroblasts constituting the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is necessary to realize conservative treatment after ACL injury. Therefore, we focused on the adjacent adipose tissue, the sub patellar adipose tendon, and conducted culture experiments to confirm the activation of ACL-derived fibroblasts through cell-to-cell interaction.
Methods: Fibroblasts were dispersed from the ACL of male Wistar rats, and fibroblasts from third passage were used in the experiment. Two groups were used: a Mono-culture group and a Co-culture group (co-culture with infrapatellar fat pad collected from living animals). In addition to wound healing studies, real-time qPCR analysis was performed to examine gene expression levels.
Results: In the wound healing study, significant cell infiltration into the wound was observed in the Co-culture group compared to the Mono-culture group. However, there was no difference in the number of infiltrated cells, and no significant difference in the gene expression of TGFβ1, which is involved in fibroblast proliferation and migration.
Conclusion: It was suggested that co-culture with infrapatellar fat pad enhances the migratory ability of ACL-derived fibroblasts, but the mechanism needs to be further verified.
