Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics Research Group

Review Paper

Magnetotherapy: The quest for tendon regeneration

Abstract

Tendons are mechanosensitive tissues that connect and transmit the forces generated by muscles to bones by allowing the conversion of mechanical input into biochemical signals. These physical forces perform the fundamental work of preserving tendon homeostasis assuring body movements. However, overloading causes tissue injuries, which leads us to the field of tendon regeneration. Recently published reviews have broadly shown the use of biomaterials and different strategies to attain tendon regeneration. In this review, our focus is the use of magnetic fields as an alternative therapy, which has demonstrated clinical relevance in tendon medicine because of their ability to modulate cell fate. Yet the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms still need to be elucidated. While providing a brief outlook about specific signalling pathways and intracellular messengers as framework in play by tendon cells, application of magnetic fields as a subcategory of physical forces is explored, opening up a compelling avenue to enhance tendon regeneration. We outline here useful insights on the effects of magnetic fields both at in vitro and in vivo levels, particularly on the expression of tendon genes and inflammatory cytokines, ultimately involved in tendon regeneration. Subsequently, the potential of using magnetically responsive biomaterials in tendon tissue engineering is highlighted and future directions in magnetotherapy are discussed.

Journal
Journal of Cellular Physiology
Volume
233
Issue
10
Pagination
6395-6405
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
1097-4652
URL
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jcp.26637
Keywords
contact-free technology, electromagnetic field, Magnetic biomaterials, mechano-responsive tissue, mechanotransduction, Tendon
Rights
Restricted Access
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Status
published
Year of Publication
2018
DOI
10.1002/jcp.26637
Date Published
2018-05-09
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