Tenogenically Induced Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Allogeneic Platelet-Rich Plasma: 2-Year Follow-up after Tendon or Ligament Treatment in Horses.
Authors: Beerts Charlotte, Suls Marc, Broeckx Sarah Y, Seys Bert, Vandenberghe Aurélie, Declercq Jeroen, Duchateau Luc, Vidal Martin A, Spaas Jan H
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Tendon and ligament injuries represent a significant challenge in equine sport medicine, with conventional treatments often resulting in poor tissue quality, chronic lameness, and early career termination. Beerts and colleagues investigated whether intralesional injection of allogeneic mesenchymal stem cells (pre-differentiated towards tenogenic lineage) combined with platelet-rich plasma could improve healing outcomes in horses with superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) or suspensory ligament (SL) lesions, treating 104 horses within 5–6 days of diagnosis and monitoring clinical, lameness and ultrasonographic parameters over two years. By 12 weeks post-injection, ultrasonographic improvement was evident in over 93% of both lesion types, with lameness resolution achieved in approximately 79–86% of cases; longer-term follow-up at 24 months showed 82–86% of treated horses returning to their previous performance level. Critically, the 24-month re-injury rate for stem cell-treated horses (17.6% for SL, 14.3% for SDFT) was substantially lower than the 44% re-injury rate reported with conventional therapies in meta-analysis data, suggesting that early intervention with cell-based regenerative therapy significantly improves both functional outcomes and tissue durability in sport horses. These findings support consideration of allogeneic stem cell therapy as a first-line intervention for tendon and ligament injuries in performance animals, particularly given the substantially reduced risk of recurrent injury that directly impacts on-career longevity.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Allogeneic stem cell therapy combined with platelet-rich plasma shows significantly better long-term outcomes than conventional treatments, with re-injury rates of 18% versus 44% at 2 years
- •Most treated horses (80-86%) return to their previous competition level within 2 years, making this a viable option for sport horse owners seeking to preserve athletic careers
- •Clinical improvement is evident by 12 weeks post-injection, providing early indicators of treatment success for prognostic counselling
Key Findings
- •At 12 weeks, 93.1% of suspensory ligament and 95.5% of SDFT lesions showed convincing ultrasonographic improvement
- •Lameness was abolished in 78.6% of suspensory ligament and 85.7% of SDFT horses at 12 weeks
- •At 24 months, 82.4% of suspensory ligament and 85.7% of SDFT horses returned to previous performance level
- •Stem cell therapy resulted in 18% re-injury rate at 2 years compared to 44% with conventional treatments (P<0.0001)