Publication Type Academic Article
Authors Bowles R, Gebhard H, Härtl R, Bonassar L
Journal Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Volume 108
Issue 32
Pagination 13106-11
Date Published 08/01/2011
ISSN 1091-6490
Keywords Extracellular Matrix, Intervertebral Disc, Tissue Engineering
Abstract Lower back and neck pain are leading physical conditions for which patients see their doctors in the United States. The organ commonly implicated in this condition is the intervertebral disc (IVD), which frequently herniates, ruptures, or tears, often causing pain and limiting spinal mobility. To date, approaches for replacement of diseased IVD have been confined to purely mechanical devices designed to either eliminate or enable flexibility of the diseased motion segment. Here we present the evaluation of a living, tissue-engineered IVD composed of a gelatinous nucleus pulposus surrounded by an aligned collagenous annulus fibrosus in the caudal spine of athymic rats for up to 6 mo. When implanted into the rat caudal spine, tissue-engineered IVD maintained disc space height, produced de novo extracellular matrix, and integrated into the spine, yielding an intact motion segment with dynamic mechanical properties similar to that of native IVD. These studies demonstrate the feasibility of engineering a functional spinal motion segment and represent a critical step in developing biological therapies for degenerative disc disease.
DOI 10.1073/pnas.1107094108
PubMed ID 21808048
PubMed Central ID PMC3156186
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