New protein from an unexpected ligament. Mus musculus

This study describes the discovery of the gene responsible for differentiation of stem cells into ligament tissue. This important finding may lead to the development of treatments for gonarthrosis, rupture of the cruciate ligament and periodontal ligament, and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Overall design: This study describes the discovery of the gene (A) responsible for differentiation of stem cells into ligament tissue. The transfection of this gene into mouse mesenchymal stem cells resulted in the formation of ligament-like connective tissue composed of parallel fibres. We performed microarray analysis of four samples: stem cells (sample1), ligament-like tissue from stem cells transfected with A (sample 4), ligament tissue from A-transgenic mice (sample 2) , and ligament tissue from wild type mice (sample 3).