# Multiscale Computational Tool to Reduce the Prevalence of Age-Related Tendinopathy by Resolving the Key Mechanisms of Tendon Dynamics

> **NIH NIH P20** · TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA · 2020 · $256,109

## Abstract

Multiscale Computational Tool to Reduce the Prevalence of Age-Related Tendinopathy by Resolving 
 the Key Mechanisms of Tendon Dynamics 
Project Summary 
The long term goal of this work is to alter the clinical paradigm for age-related tendinopathy and to rationally 
design strategies to impede degeneration and improve healing by identifying the key mechanisms of tendon 
dynamics before and after injury. Age-related tendinopathy is a physically debilitating and painful disorder 
wherein tendon structural integrity and mechanical performance decline, increasing the risk of rupture. Existing 
treatments often fail to restore tendon strength and functionality, contributing to significant healthcare costs and 
negatively impacting quality of life for up to one in three adults over fifty. Nevertheless, the key mechanisms of 
age-related tendon changes and healing deficiencies are not well-understood. We seek to determine the key 
mechanisms of tendon dynamics to effectively focus clinical intervention. To accomplish this we propose to 
leverage a computational tool, informed and validated by experimental data in the murine patellar tendon, to 
identify the key mechanisms that diminish the preservation and restoration of dynamic homeostasis with age. 
Our central hypothesis is that tendon cells respond to daily motions by producing or removing load-bearing 
tendon components to maintain a homeostatic state. Further, we hypothesize that age-related disruptions to 
the balance of the production and removal of these components increase susceptibility to degeneration and/or 
tears by decreasing mechanical performance and healing potential. In Aim 1 of this proposal, we will evaluate 
the age-specific sensitivity of tendon mechanical homeostasis to different declining production mechanisms. In 
Aim 2, we will determine the age-specific bounds of tendon growth potential by evaluating the effect of altered 
mechanical loading on homeostasis. In Aim 3, we will delineate the age-specific tendon component 
adaptations which hinder the restoration of mechanical homeostasis following injury. Successful completion of 
this study will provide a fundamental understanding of the critical mechanisms of tendon dynamics with 
increasing age. Further, it will provide a vital step towards the development of predictive computational models 
to aid in the rational design of patient-specific treatment plans and interventions, improving the clinical care of 
age-related tendinopathy.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9932382
- **Project number:** 5P20GM103629-09
- **Recipient organization:** TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristin Suzanne Miller
- **Activity code:** P20 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $256,109
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2020-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9932382

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9932382, Multiscale Computational Tool to Reduce the Prevalence of Age-Related Tendinopathy by Resolving the Key Mechanisms of Tendon Dynamics (5P20GM103629-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9932382. Licensed CC0.

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