Effect of Muscle Cell Preservation on Viability and Differentiation of Hamstring Tendon Graft In Vitro

Muscle tissue is often removed during hamstring tendon graft preparation for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. The purpose of the study was to test whether preservation of muscle remnants on a tendon graft is beneficial to the graft healing process following ACL reconstruction. Co-culturing of tendon-derived cells (TDCs) and muscle-derived cells (MDCs) was performed at various ratios, and their potential for cell viability and multilineage differentiation was compared to a single TDC cell group. Ligamentous and chondrogenic differentiation was most enhanced when a small population of MDCs was co-cultured with TDCs (6:2 co-culture group). Cell viability and osteogenic differentiation were proportionally enhanced with increasing MDC population size. MDCs co-cultured with TDCs possess both the ability to enhance cell viability and differentiate into other cell lineages.