Enhanced proliferation capacity of porcine tenocytes in low O2 tension culture

Tenocytes reside in relatively avascular tissue and are difficult to expand due to phenotype drift and functional loss. Thus low O-2 tension culture was employed to enhance the expansion capability. The results demonstrated that low O-2 tension (2% O-2) culture could significantly enhance the expansion of newborn pig tenocytes with 275-473% greater cell yield per cell passage that that of regular O-2 cultured (21% O-2) cells. Importantly, low O-2 culture did not change the gene expression of functional molecule such as collagens I and III, decorin, prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H), lysyl oxidase (LOX), TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, but could significantly down regulate the gene expression of MMP-1 and IL-6. In conclusion, low O-2 tension culture can significantly enhance the expansion capacity of tenocytes without affecting their phenotype and functions.