Grant: Operating Grant - PA: IMHA New investigators - Bridge Funding

Tendons are a special kind of connective tissue - they connect muscles and bones, allowing joints to move and absorb energy during activities such as sport or manual labor. Tendons often become injured and heal poorly, especially in workers. Tendon injuries tend to become recurrent and chronic, and can lead to extensive time off work. We have found abnormally high levels of a type of connective tissue cell - the mast cell - in chronically painful human tendons, and also in acutely injured or repetitively strained rodent tendons. This cell type has a well known role in the allergy response; however, mast cells are also involved in the formation of repair tissue, especially in conditions where there is a chronic or ongoing injury. This project aims to understand the role of mast cells in tendon injury, including the mechanisms by which mast cells influence the repair activity of local tendon cells. This work could lead to new treatments for injured workers and athletes suffering from chronic activity-related tendon pain.