Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies

Tendon injury is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders that severely affect patients’ daily lives. Unfortunately, naturally healed tendons exhibit poor quality, as they have very limited regenerative ability. Recently, therapeutic strategies involving the administration of growth factors...

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Main Authors: Mingming Wang, Jiayuan Zhang, Hanyue Li, Yini Li, Zhigang Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-03-01
Series:Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1492811/full
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author Mingming Wang
Jiayuan Zhang
Hanyue Li
Yini Li
Zhigang Li
author_facet Mingming Wang
Jiayuan Zhang
Hanyue Li
Yini Li
Zhigang Li
author_sort Mingming Wang
collection DOAJ
description Tendon injury is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders that severely affect patients’ daily lives. Unfortunately, naturally healed tendons exhibit poor quality, as they have very limited regenerative ability. Recently, therapeutic strategies involving the administration of growth factors have been advocated to enhance tendon regenerative healing. Growth factors are peptide-signaling molecules that elicit biological functions such as cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation by acting through a complex organization of cell surface receptors and activating intracellular signaling pathways. Insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) represents one such factor that has shown promising effects for enhancing tendon regenerative healing in vitro and animal models. However, it is disappointing that IGF-1 has not been shown to play a very significant role in promoting tendon healing in clinical trials, which could reflect our poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which IGF-1 is involved in promoting tendon regenerative healing. Therefore, in this review, we summarized the roles and mechanisms of IGF-1 for enhancing tendon regenerative healing. Nevertheless, much work is still needed to optimize its effectiveness.
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issn 2296-4185
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publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
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spelling doaj-art-34f506c92b2245d1a5d6867945f171d02025-08-20T02:10:42ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology2296-41852025-03-011310.3389/fbioe.2025.14928111492811Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapiesMingming Wang0Jiayuan Zhang1Hanyue Li2Yini Li3Zhigang Li4Police Basic Skills Teaching Department, Sichuan Police College, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaPolice Basic Skills Teaching Department, Sichuan Police College, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaSchool of Physical Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaThe Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaSchool of Physical Education, Southwest Medical University, Luzhou, Sichuan, ChinaTendon injury is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders that severely affect patients’ daily lives. Unfortunately, naturally healed tendons exhibit poor quality, as they have very limited regenerative ability. Recently, therapeutic strategies involving the administration of growth factors have been advocated to enhance tendon regenerative healing. Growth factors are peptide-signaling molecules that elicit biological functions such as cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation by acting through a complex organization of cell surface receptors and activating intracellular signaling pathways. Insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) represents one such factor that has shown promising effects for enhancing tendon regenerative healing in vitro and animal models. However, it is disappointing that IGF-1 has not been shown to play a very significant role in promoting tendon healing in clinical trials, which could reflect our poor understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which IGF-1 is involved in promoting tendon regenerative healing. Therefore, in this review, we summarized the roles and mechanisms of IGF-1 for enhancing tendon regenerative healing. Nevertheless, much work is still needed to optimize its effectiveness.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1492811/fulltendon injuryIGF-1tendon regenerative healingtendon repairtenocytemechanisms
spellingShingle Mingming Wang
Jiayuan Zhang
Hanyue Li
Yini Li
Zhigang Li
Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies
Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology
tendon injury
IGF-1
tendon regenerative healing
tendon repair
tenocyte
mechanisms
title Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies
title_full Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies
title_fullStr Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies
title_full_unstemmed Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies
title_short Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) empowering tendon regenerative therapies
title_sort insulin like growth factor 1 igf 1 empowering tendon regenerative therapies
topic tendon injury
IGF-1
tendon regenerative healing
tendon repair
tenocyte
mechanisms
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1492811/full
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AT jiayuanzhang insulinlikegrowthfactor1igf1empoweringtendonregenerativetherapies
AT hanyueli insulinlikegrowthfactor1igf1empoweringtendonregenerativetherapies
AT yinili insulinlikegrowthfactor1igf1empoweringtendonregenerativetherapies
AT zhigangli insulinlikegrowthfactor1igf1empoweringtendonregenerativetherapies