Tendon-Specific Dicer Deficient Mice Exhibit Hypoplastic Tendon Through the Downregulation of Tendon-Related Genes and MicroRNAs.

ABSTRACT: Tendon is a fibrous connective tissue, that is, transmitting the forces that permit body movement. However, tendon/ligament biology is still not fully understood and especially, the role of miRNAs in tendon/ligament is sparse and uncharacterized in in vivo models. The objectives of this study were to address the function of DICER using mice with tendon/ligament-specific deletion of Dicer (Dicer conditional knockout; cKO), and to identify key miRNAs in tendon/ligament. Dicer cKO mice exhibited hypoplastic tendons through structurally abnormal collagen fibrils with downregulation of tendon-related genes. The fragility of tendon did not significantly affect the tensile strength of tendon in Dicer cKO mice, but they showed larger dorsiflexion angle in gait co

SUBMITTER: Omoto T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9241168 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature