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REVIEW ARTICLE
Strategies for constructing rotator cuff organoids: A

review

Qiangzhuang Shi 1,2,3 , Weidong Yu , and Zhenlong Liu 1,2,3 *
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1 Department of Sports Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Institute of Sports Medicine of Peking University, Beijing, China
2 Beijing Key Laboratory of Sports Injuries, Beijing, China
3 Engineering Research Center of Sports Trauma Treatment Technology and Devices, Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
4 Wellspring TCM technology institute Ltd, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
*Corresponding author: Zhenlong Liu (zhenlong_liu@bjmu.edu.cn)

Citation: Shi Q, Yu W, Liu Z. Abstract
Strategies for constructing rotator cuff
organoids: A review. Organoid Res.
2025;1(3):025320025. Rotator cuff injury is a common disease of the locomotor system, causing a serious
doi: 10.36922/OR025320025 burden on the individual patient as well as society. The current treatment primarily
involves surgical intervention, but it cannot completely restore the physiological
Received: August 7, 2025
integrity of the rotator cuff and carries a significant risk of postoperative re-tear.
1st revised: September 19, 2025 To improve the repair of rotator cuff injuries, regenerative medicine strategies have
2nd revised: October 9, 2025 been widely explored. Organoids refer to three-dimensional (3D) tissue structures
derived from stem/progenitor cells in vitro, which recapitulate native organ structure
Accepted: October 13, 2025
and function, providing an emerging platform for disease modeling, drug screening,
Published online: October 27, 2025 and regenerative medicine. In this paper, we first outline the disease background of
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). This rotator cuff anatomy and current clinical treatments and subsequently summarize
is an Open-Access article distributed fabrication strategies for the rotator cuff-relevant organoids, focusing on skeletal
under the terms of the Creative
Commons Attribution License, muscle, tendon, bone, cartilage, and especially regenerative medicine approaches
permitting distribution, and reproduction for the tendon-bone interface. Building upon this foundation, we describe in detail
in any medium, which provided that the the integrative strategies for rotator cuff organoid biofabrication, encompassing cell
original work is properly cited. sources, matrix materials, construction techniques, and strategies. Finally, this work
Publisher’s Note: AccScience also addresses the challenges in rotator cuff organoid construction and outlines
Publishing remains neutral with regard possible solutions, while re-emphasizing the transformative potential of rotator cuff
to jurisdictional claims in published
maps and institutional affiliations. organoids for promoting fundamental research, accelerating drug screening, and
enabling functional repair of rotator cuff diseases.

Keywords: Rotator cuff; Organoid; Regenerative medicine

1. Introduction rotator cuff tears has been reported to be 10–40%, while
the rate of rotator cuff re-tears is 11–68%. Consequently,
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Rotator cuff injury (RCI) is one of the most common rotator cuff injuries represent a highly prevalent condition
musculoskeletal disorders, and the main symptoms include with profound impacts on both individual well-being and
shoulder pain, restricted mobility, and dysfunction, which healthcare systems.
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can cause pain and dyskinesia, thus diminishing the quality
of life of the patients and placing a substantial burden on the The rotator cuff consists of the supraspinatus,
healthcare system. Based on a study conducted in Japan, infraspinatus, teres minor, and subscapularis muscles. Their
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the prevalence of RCI was estimated at approximately tendons converge to attach to the humeral head through
20.7%. In the United States, medical care expenditures for a specialized transitional architecture, which consists of
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shoulder disorders had reached approximately US$7 billion four histologically distinct zones: (1) the tendinous proper,
in 2000, with 65–70% of these patients experiencing rotator (2) uncalcified fibrocartilage, (3) calcified fibrocartilage, and
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cuff disorders. In addition, the prevalence of massive (4) mineralized bone. The mechanism of RCI is complex
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Volume 1 Issue 3 (2025) 1 doi: 10.36922/OR025320025