Resolution of inflammation in tendon disease: how is the bursa involved?

• Applicant: Dr. Franka Klatte-Schulz
• Subject Area: Orthopaedics, Traumatology, Reconstructive Surgery
• Term: from 2019 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 430910616

Tendon disease represents one of the remaining unsolved clinical problems with a constantly growing patient group in need for solutions to regenerate injured tendons, specifically of the shoulder. Tendon regeneration is a complex process, which was so far seen independent from surrounding tissues. More recently, we and others hypothesized that adjacent tissues substantially impact the regenerative cascade. Specifically, the subacromial bursa at the rotator cuff is thought to impact the local inflammatory milieu. Inflammation highly impacts tendon healing and its successful resolution appears essential to achieve tendon regeneration. As known from literature, specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are key players in the regulation of the resolution of inflammation and were not studied in the bursa tissue so far. Our preliminary work lays a methodical as well as scientific basis on the local cellular and inflammatory processes in tendon and bursa. Additionally, our newest preliminary data already prove the presence of SPM signaling factors in the bursa tissue. With the proposed project, I now aim to close an important knowledge gap present in the field regarding the impact of bursa tissue on the local inflammatory processes in injured tendon, which has so far been neglected. That approach will allow to gain a more mechanistic basic research understanding as well as laying the foundation for future translational strategies to treat tendon diseases more effectively. Finally, I aim with granting of this project to initiate my own research career as an independent scientist.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr.-Ing. Georg Duda; Dr. Kathi Thiele; Professorin Dr. Britt Wildemann