Autologous microfragmented adipose tissue reduces inflammatory and catabolic markers in supraspinatus tendon cells derived from patients affected by rotator cuff tears

Purpose: Rotator cuff tears are common musculoskeletal disorders, and surgical repair is characterized by a high rate of re-tear. Regenerative medicine strategies, in particular mesenchymal stem cell\u2013based therapies, have been proposed to enhance tendon healing and reduce the re-tear rate. Autologous microfragmented adipose tissue (\u3bcFAT) allows for the clinical application of cell therapies and showed the ability to improve tenocyte proliferation and viability in previous in vitro assessments. The hypothesis of this study is that \u3bcFAT paracrine action would reduce the catabolic and inflammatory marker expression in tendon cells (TCs) derived from injured supraspinatus tendon (SST). Methods: TCs derived from injured SST were co-cultured with autologous \u3bcFAT in transwell for 48 h. Metabolic activity, DNA content, the content of soluble mediators in the media, and the gene expression of tendon-specific, inflammatory, and catabolic markers were analyzed. Results: \u3bcFAT-treated TCs showed a reduced expression of PTGS2 and MMP-3 with respect to untreated controls. Increased IL-1Ra, VEGF, and IL-6 content were observed in the media of \u3bcFAT-treated samples, in comparison with untreated TCs. Conclusion: \u3bcFAT exerted an anti-inflammatory action on supraspinatus tendon cells in vitro through paracrine action, resulting in the reduction of catabolic and inflammatory marker expression. These observations potentially support the use of \u3bcFAT as adjuvant therapy in the treatment of rotator cuff disease