title: A synthetic mechano-growth factor E peptide promotes rat tenocyte migration by lessening cell stiffness and increasing F-actin formation via the FAK-ERK1/2 signaling pathway.
abstract: Tendon injuries are common in sports and are frequent reasons for orthopedic consultations. The management of damaged tendons is one of the most challenging problems in orthopedics. Mechano-growth factor (MGF), a recently discovered growth repair factor, plays positive roles in tissue repair through the improvement of cell proliferation and migration and the protection of cells against injury-induced apoptosis. However, it remains unclear whether MGF has the potential to accelerate tendon repair. We used a scratch wound assay in this study to demonstrate that MGF-C25E (a synthetic mechano-growth factor E peptide) promotes the migration of rat tenocytes and that this promotion is accompanied by an elevation in the expression of the following signaling molecules: focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and extracellular signal regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2). Inhibitors of the FAK and ERK1/2 pathways inhibited the MGF-C25E-induced tenocyte migration, indicating that MGF-C25E promotes tenocyte migration through the FAK-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. The analysis of the mechanical properties showed that the Young's modulus of tenocytes was decreased through treatment of MGF-C25E, and an obvious formation of pseudopodia and F-actin was observed in MGF-C25E-treated tenocytes. The inhibition of the FAK or ERK1/2 signals restored the decrease in Young's modulus and inhibited the formation of pseudopodia and F-actin. Overall, our study demonstrated that MGF-C25E promotes rat tenocyte migration by lessening cell stiffness and increasing pseudopodia formation via the FAK-ERK1/2 signaling pathway.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Bingyu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: qing.luo@cqu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xinjian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Baiyao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Biorheological Science and Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Bioengineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, People's Republic of China. Electronic address: song@cqu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Guanbin
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000125:Achilles Tendon / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects*; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D010446:Peptide Fragments; C519382:mechano-growth factor, rat; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I; D051417:Focal Adhesion Kinase 1; C496052:Ptk2 protein, rat
keywords: Cytoskeleton; Extracellular signal regulated kinase1/2; Focal adhesion kinase; Mechano-growth factor; Migration; Tenocyte