McKay Orthopaedic Laboratory

1 Introduction Type I collagen (COL1) is the primary collagen of healthy tendon, while type III collagen (COL3) is a minor constituent that increases following injury [1, 2]. Innate low vascularity and cellularity, as well as aberrant matrix production and architecture, contribute to poor healing and the development of scar tissue with inferior biomechanical properties.

1 Introduction While collagen I makes up the majority of the tendon extracellular matrix, other matrix constituents are also essential for establishing and maintaining functional tendon tissue. Collagen V is a regulatory fibrillar collagen which, despite relatively low abundance in the tendon extracellular matrix, has been shown to play a critical role in matrix regulation and tendon health.

1 Introduction Musculoskeletal impairments are among the most prevalent and symptomatic disorders associated with aging, with rotator cuff disorders being especially prominent. Studies show that 25%–50% of asymptomatic patients 50-and-older and 60% of asymptomatic patients 60-and-over have a rotator cuff tear [1, 2].