Immunological study on human hair keratin artificial tendon and the preliminary results of its clinical application

The study investigated the biocompatibility and antigenicity of human hair keratin artificial tendon (HHKAT) in both animal and clinical settings. In the animal study, HHKAT and normal human hair were implanted in 18 Wistar rats, showing that the local histological reaction to HHKAT was lower than that to normal human hair. Clinically, HHKAT was used in 14 cases with 25 control cases, and immunological parameters showed no significant differences pre- and post-operation, nor between the HHKAT and control groups. All wounds healed primarily, and the functional success rate after 13 to 25 months was 92.8%. The study concluded that HHKAT had no significant antigenicity and was an ideal tendon substitute at the time.