The Functions and Mechanisms of Tendon Stem/Progenitor Cells in Tendon Healing

Table 1

Summary of general comparisons between tenocytes and TSPCs.

	TSPCs	Tenocytes
Morphology	Pebble-shaped, spindle-shaped, and rounded	Spindle-shaped (large)
Rate of proliferation	Relatively fast	Slower
Potential for differentiation	TSCs have the ability to differentiate into tenocytes as well as into several nontendon cell types including adipocytes, chondrocytes, and osteocytes	Mature tenocytes without the ability of differentiation, but investigators claim that tenocytes have some ability to differentiate into chondrocytes
Markers	Scx, Tnmd, and type I collagen	Oct-4, SSEA-4, and nucleostemin, CD44, CD90, and CD105, Scx, Tnmd, and tenascin-C, and type I collagen
Colonies formed	Dense and close	Large and sparse