Volume 32, Issue S1 p. 832.13-832.13
Pharmacology
Free Access

BPC 157 Therapy Heals Tendon Muscle Junction in Rats

Mladen Japjec

Mladen Japjec

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Mario Staresinic

Mario Staresinic

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Bozidar Sebecic

Bozidar Sebecic

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Katarina Horvat Pavlov

Katarina Horvat Pavlov

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Domagoj Drmic

Domagoj Drmic

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Tinka Vidovic

Tinka Vidovic

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Josipa Vlainic

Josipa Vlainic

Rudjer Boskovic Institute, Zagreb, Croatia

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Sven Seiwerth

Sven Seiwerth

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Predrag Sikiric

Predrag Sikiric

School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

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Abstract

Aim

After tendon was separated from muscle in the right quadriceps muscle in rats, we focused on the tendon-muscle junction healing and therapy with the stable gastric pentadecapeptide BPC 157. Noteworthy, BPC 157 is an original antiulcer peptide, stable in human gastric juice, used in ulcerative colitis and now multiple sclerosis trials), with particular wound healing ability: healing of transected or crushed muscle, transected or detached tendon, and transected ligament, demonstrated macro/microscopically, biomechanically and functionally (i.e., absent leg contracture), with parenteral and peroral therapy application (Curr Pharm Des. 2017;23(27):4012–4028; J Orthop Res. 2006 May;24(5):1109–17; J Orthop Res. 2006 May;24(5):982–9; J Orthop Res. 2003 Nov;21(6):976–83).

Methods

Under deep rat anesthesia tendon muscle junction of right quadriceps muscle was presented, and without direct transection of tendon muscle junction, the tendon was gently separated from muscle fibres. Medication was BPC 157 (10 ug or 10 ng/kg/day, intraperitoneally or in drinking water (0.16ug or 0.16ng/ml; 12ml/rat/day) while controls received an equivolume of saline (5 ml/kg intraperitoneally) or drinking water only. Macro/microscopical, biomechanical assessment was at 1st, 2nd, 4th, and 6th week after surgery, while functional presentation (walking patterns, leg contracture) was daily assessed.

Results

Gross assessment reveals in quadriceps muscle a huge defect between tendon and muscle sustainably progressing throughout the experiment and failed healing. By contrast, in rats underwent tendon muscle junction separation that received BPC 157, the healing was continuously presented. Since very beginning, BPC 157 rats presented defect markedly less and finally grossly reestablished tendon muscle junction (Fig. 1). Also, controls exhibited severe leg contracture, and tottering walk, which were fully counteracted by BPC 157 therapy. These results are completely confirmed by microscopy. Illustratively, at 2nd week controls showed edema of the tendon with moderate lymphocytic infiltrate and formation of granulation tissue, while BPC 157 rats exhibited only minimal lymphocytic infiltrate with no granulation tissue formation in all pentadecapeptide BPC 157 treated animals and with better already reestablished myotendinous junction structures (Fig. 2). Likewise, biomechanic assessment demonstrated only a poor recovery of muscle strength in controls, while a full recovery ensues in BPC 157 treated rats.

Conclusion

In addition to the therapy of the injured muscle and tendon, BPC 157 therapy could also specifically benefit the injuries of tendon muscle junction.

This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

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