Biological Signaling Pathways Associated with Late Tendon Development in Chicken Embryos and Their Dependence on Mechanical Stimulation

Between embryonic day 16 and 20 in chick hindlimb tendons, transcriptomic changes peak, with development-linked upregulation of mechanotransduction and extracellular matrix remodeling pathways.

• Why it matters: Tendon mechanics and structure mature in a mechanically dependent way, but the specific signaling pathways coordinating late-stage maturation are not well defined.
• What they did: Bulk RNA sequencing with gene set enrichment and transcription factor analyses profiled chick hindlimb tendons at E16, E18, and E20, and compared rigid versus flaccid paralysis-treated embryos using two differential expression models.
• The result: Rigid paralysis shows the greatest effect versus controls, with paralysis linked to impaired extracellular matrix remodeling and mechanotransduction, plus cellular stress response and WNT signaling downregulation.

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