Fibroblast specialization across microanatomy in a single-cell atlas of human Achilles tendon

2026/04/01 by C. Cohen, Jolet Y. Mimpen, Alina Kurjan +20 · 2 voices
Medicine · #Osteoarthritis Treatment and Mechanisms #Shoulder Injury and Treatment #Tendon Structure and Treatment

paper · doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00838.2025

openalex publication_date 2026/04/01 · openalex created_date 2026/04/02 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15

Abstract

We present the first spatially resolved single-cell atlas of the human Achilles tendon. By sampling across the microanatomy of the tendon from enthesis to muscle, we demonstrate changes in fibroblast composition across this transitional tissue. Distinct fibroblast subsets were discovered with specific transcriptomic signatures, and several were found in distinct spatial locations corresponding to putative functional roles in tendon and adjoining muscle. These findings demonstrate how cellular diversity across a transitional tissue may underlie microanatomical-specific roles.

Citations

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• Integrated analysis of multimodal single-cell data
• Exploring cellular changes in ruptured human quadriceps tendons at single‐cell resolution

Discussions

• Are all fibroblasts the same? Absolutely not! Our new study looks at cell types along the length of the Achilles tendon🦵 We found specialist fibroblasts with unique transcriptomic signatures and [bsky, 4 points, 1 comments]
• Always wondered how the cellular composition of tendons changes across their microanatomy? Look no further! In this study, we used single nucleus and spatial transcriptomics to identify cells across [bsky, 3 points, 0 comments]

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