Compound improved rotator cuff healing in aged rats
In an experiment involving 48 rats, a drug-loaded gel improved tissue organization and tendon-to-bone strength after shoulder tendon repair in aged animals compared with gel alone.
Our read
Interventions- Studied:
- Experiments in 48 young and aged Sprague-Dawley rats, against aged rats receiving fibrin gel alone
- What changed:
- Repaired tendon-to-bone attachments were stronger with drug-loaded gel than with gel alone
- The catch:
- The abstract omits how long healing was followed
- In the record:
- One of 12 papers on H-151 on record: 1 with results in people, 6 in animals.
- Why it’s aging research:
- Old against young, or naturally aged tissue.
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Forty-eight young and aged Sprague-Dawley rats took part in an animal experiment testing H-151 after rotator cuff repair, surgery on tendons that attach shoulder muscles to bone. The groups included young and aged rats given sham surgery and aged rats given repair surgery with either fibrin gel alone or gel containing H-151.
H-151 inhibits STING, a protein involved in immune signaling. The researchers found activation of this signaling pathway where tendon met bone in aged rats. Compared with gel alone, H-151 reduced markers of age-related inflammation, improved collagen organization and increased cartilage regeneration. The repaired tendon-to-bone attachments also withstood greater force before failure and were stiffer.
Why it matters
For age-related rotator cuff tears, the authors suggest that blocking STING may offer a way to improve healing in older patients.
Caveats
The results came from surgically repaired injuries in rats, not from patients. The abstract does not give the H-151 dose or how long healing was followed.
The paper
Pharmacological Inhibition of STING with H-151 Promotes Rotator Cuff Healing in Aged Rats
Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American Volume, Nov 3, 2026
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