September 27 - October 1, 2000
Matrix Biology 2000: From Discovery to Application - 24th Annual Scientific Conference of the Matrix Biology Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Couran Cove, South Stradbroke Island, Gold Coast, Qld, Australia.

Inhibition of the Fibroblasts of the Flexor Tendon and its Synovial Sheath Using a New Prolyl Hydroxylase Inhibitor. D. McCombe, N. Ruangpanit *, E. Keramidaris, M. Nafissi #, EW. Thompson * and WA. Morrison
Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
* St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, St.Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne
# FibroGen Inc. San Francisco, California

The fibroblasts of the flexor tendon and the associated tendon sheath are responsible for the wound healing response following tendon injury. Depending on which population of fibroblasts predominates in this response, the tendon will heal with or without fibrous adhesions between the tendon and its surrounding sheath, the latter being the desirable clinical scenario.

The aim of the study was to identify the morphological and functional characteristics of distinct fibroblast populations and to examine the effect of a new antifibrotic agent on fibroblast proliferation and collagen synthesis with a view to developing a specific antifibrotic strategy for tendon surgery.

Primary explant cultures have been prepared from a hindfoot flexor tendon, flexor tendon sheath and the dermis from the dorsum of the rat. Between passage 2 and 4, cell morphology, proliferation and collagen synthesis were compared between these cell lines over a 14 day period. The responses of these parameters to the effect of a new antifibrotic agent were examined.

The results of these assays will be presented in addition to the preliminary results of an in vivo experiment in a rat model of flexor tendon adhesion model.