Stem cell therapy for tendon injuries is used increasingly in clinical practice, yet a number of important hurdles persist that made one group of researchers look at using embryonic stem cells rather than bone marrow-derived stem cells in horses.

"Obtaining mesenchymal stem cells obtained from a horse’s own bone marrow is invasive, and it then takes two to four weeks to culture the cells before they can be injected into the damaged tendon," said Debbie Guest, BSc, PhD, from the Centre for Preventative Medicine, Animal Health Trust in Newmarket, UK.

This near month-long delay is particularly concerning as it is speculated that stem cells must be injected into a damaged tissue early to achieve a functional improvement.

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) that have been previously isolated from horses and maintained in cell cultures are an alternative option to bone marrow-derived stem cells