JSES - 2026-04-10 - Journal Article
Effects of BMP-7 and Low Molecular Weight Peptide Solution on Healing in a Rotator Cuff Tear Model: A Histopathological and Biomechanical Study in Rats.
Kavukcu MB, Özaslan Hİ, Akcan G, Erbay Elibol FK, Perdeci EN, Demir T, Çağlar C, Doğan M
Topics
Key Takeaway
BMP-7 application in a rat rotator cuff repair model produced significantly higher stiffness and Young's modulus than LMWPS at 4 weeks (p=0.013 and p=0.011, respectively), while LMWPS increased vascularity but yielded the lowest stiffness among all groups.
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Summary
This study compared BMP-7 and LMWPS as biological adjuncts to acute rotator cuff repair in 24 Wistar rats, evaluating outcomes at 4 weeks via biomechanical testing (right shoulders) and histopathology using the Tendon Healing Scoring System (left shoulders). BMP-7 produced significantly superior stiffness and Young's modulus versus LMWPS (p=0.013, p=0.011) and superior histopathological maturation versus controls. LMWPS increased tenocyte-like cell ratio and vascularity but failed to achieve mechanical maturity, demonstrating the lowest stiffness of all three groups (p=0.022 vs. control).
Key Limitation
The 4-week endpoint captures only early inflammatory and proliferative healing phases, providing no data on remodeling-phase outcomes or long-term mechanical integrity that would be required to predict clinical retear rates.
Original Abstract
BACKGROUND
Rotator cuff tears are the most prevalent shoulder pathology requiring surgery,yet high retear rates necessitate additional biological adjuncts.This study evaluated the effects of bone morphogenetic protein-7(BMP-7) and low molecular weight peptide solution(LMWPS) on early tendon-to-bone healing.We hypothesized that these two agents with different mechanisms of action would histopathologically and biomechanically enhance early rotator cuff repair.
METHODS
Acute rotator cuff repairs were performed bilaterally on 24 Wistar albino rats divided into three groups: control,LMWPS (5 μl at 1 μg/μl),and BMP-7(200 μl at 2.5 ng/μl) groups.At 4 weeks postoperation, the right shoulders underwent biomechanical testing (maximum load, maximum stress, stiffness, and Young's modulus),while the left shoulders were evaluated histopathologically using the Tendon Healing Scoring System.
RESULTS
The BMP-7 group achieved significantly superior biomechanical and histopathological outcomes compared to the LMWPS and control groups.Biomechanically, stiffness and Young's modulus were significantly higher in the BMP-7 group than in the LMWPS group (p=0.013 vs. p=0.011).Histopathologically, both LMWPS and BMP-7 treatment resulted in a significantly higher tenocyte-like cell ratio(p=0.008 vs. p<0.001) and more organized parallel fiber alignment(p<0.001) than in the control group.While the LMWPS group showed significantly increased vascularity compared to the control and the BMP-7 groups (p=0.006 vs. p=0.008),it demonstrated the lowest stiffness among the groups (p=0.022 vs. p=0.013).
CONCLUSION
BMP-7 application significantly enhances the quality of tendon-to-bone healing by promoting structural maturation and functional stability.Although LMWPS increases biological activity, it doesn't achieve the mechanical maturity provided by BMP-7 at 4 weeks.