Considering the close relationship between cholesterol and tendinopathy and the pivotal role of TDSCs in the pathobiology of tendinopathy, we attempted to evaluate whether cholesterol induces apoptosis and autophagy in TDSCs and investigated the underlying mechanisms, of the induction of apoptosis and autophagy through the ROS-mediated AKT/FOXO1 pathway. The gene discussed is FOXO1; the disease is disease of the tendon.