A lab study found that treating injured knee ligament cells with the MGF‑E peptide helped them grow faster and make more of the right kind of collagen, while also lowering enzymes that break down tissue. This effect works through a known cell‑signaling pathway (MEK‑ERK1/2).

Injured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is hard to heal due to the poor proliferative potential of ACL fibroblasts. To verify whether mechano-growth factor (MGF) E peptide can restore the cell proliferation of injured ACL fibroblasts, ACL fibroblasts pretreated with MGF E peptide were subjected to injurious stretch and the outcomes were evaluated at 0 and 24 h. After injured, the type III collagen synthesis was increased at 0 h while inhibited at 24 h. The matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) activity/expression was up-regulated, but the cell proliferation was inhibited. Fortunately, exogenous MGF E peptide decreased the type I/III collagen synthesis at 0 h but improved the type III collagen synthesis at 24 h. It decreased the MMP-2 activity/expression of injured ACL fibroblasts. Besides, MGF E peptide accelerated the cell proliferation via MEK-ERK1/2 signaling pathway. Our results implied that MGF E peptide pretreatment could provide a new efficient approach for ACL regeneration.