Assessing the functional properties of tenogenic primed mesenchymal stem cells in ex vivo equine tendon and ligament explants: A preliminary study

•tpMSCs express a significantly higher amount of collagen type I when compared to native MSCs.•tpMSCs express a significantly lower amount of smooth muscle actin when compared to native MSCs.•tpMSCs show a significantly higher tendon and ligament adherence when compared to native MSCs.•A significantly higher percentage of collagen type I positive and a lower percentage of smooth muscle actin positive cells were observed in the tendon lesions treated with tpMSCs.