A latent Axin2/Scx progenitor pool is the central organizer of tendon healing.

A tendon's ordered extracellular matrix (ECM) is essential for transmitting force but is also highly prone to injury. How tendon cells embedded within and surrounding this dense ECM orchestrate healing is not well understood. Here, we identify a specialized quiescent Scx/Axin2 population in mouse and human tendons that initiates healing and is a major functional contributor to repair.

A distinct transition from cell growth to physiological homeostasis in the tendon.

Changes in cell proliferation define transitions from tissue growth to physiological homeostasis. In tendons, a highly organized extracellular matrix undergoes significant postnatal expansion to drive growth, but once formed, it appears to undergo little turnover. However, tendon cell activity during growth and homeostatic maintenance is less well defined.