Cell transplantation in lumbar spine disc degeneration disease

Low back pain is an extremely common symptom, affecting nearly three-quarters of the population sometime in their life. Given that disc herniation is thought to be an extension of progressive disc degeneration that attends the normal aging process, seeking an effective therapy that staves off disc degeneration has been considered a logical attempt to reduce back pain. The most apparent cellular and biochemical changes attributable to degeneration include a decrease in cell density in the disc that is accompanied by a reduction in synthesis of cartilage-specific extracellular matrix components. With this in mind, one therapeutic strategy would be to replace, regenerate, or augment the intervertebral disc cell population, with a goal of correcting matrix insufficiencies and restoring normal segment biomechanics. Biological restoration through the use of autologous disc chondrocyte transplantation offers a potential to achieve functional integration of disc metabolism and mechanics. We designed an animal study using the dog as our model to investigate this hypothesis by transplantation of autologous disc-derived chondrocytes into degenerated intervertebral discs. As a result we demonstrated that disc cells remained viable after transplantation; transplanted disc cells produced an extracellular matrix that contained components similar to normal intervertebral disc tissue; a statistically significant correlation between transplanting cells and retention of disc height could displayed. Following these results the Euro Disc Randomized Trial was initiated to embrace a representative patient group with persistent symptoms that had not responded to conservative treatment where an indication for surgical treatment was given. In the interim analyses we evaluated that patients who received autologous disc cell transplantation had greater pain reduction at 2 years compared with patients who did not receive cells following their discectomy surgery and discs in patients that received cells demonstrated a significant difference as a group in the fluid content of their treated disc when compared to control. Autologous disc-derived cell transplantation is technically feasible and biologically relevant to repairing disc damage and retarding disc degeneration. Adipose tissue provides an alternative source of regenerative cells with little donor site morbidity. These regenerative cells are able to differentiate into a nucleus pulposus-like phenotype when exposed to environmental factors similar to disc, and offer the inherent advantage of availability without the need for transporting, culturing, and expanding the cells. In an effort to develop a clinical option for cell placement and assess the response of the cells to the post-surgical milieu, adipose-derived cells were collected, concentrated, and transplanted under fluoroscopic guidance directly into a surgically damaged disc using our dog model. This study provides evidence that cells harvested from adipose tissue might offer a reliable source of regenerative potential capable of bio-restitution.

Auto fluorescence of intervertebral disc tissue: a new diagnostic tool

The paper reports on auto fluorescence phenomena of inter-vertebral human discs. It systematically investigates the auto fluorescence effects of ex vivo disc specimen and reports on surgical cases to demonstrate the potential value of the new method. The paper offers biologic explanations of the phenomenon and discusses the potential value of the UV auto fluorescence technique as a diagnostic tool. Intra- and postoperative observations are made by a surgical microscope with an integrated UV light source. Quantitative measurements were carried out using a photon counter and a spectrometer ex vivo. The auto fluorescence phenomenon allows the differentiation of traumatized and degenerated disc tissue intraoperatively in some cases, it allows the differentiation of bony and collagen endplate in cervical disc surgery. The source of the auto fluorescent light emission are amino acids of the collagen molecules. The proteoglycan components and the liquid components of the disc do not show relevant auto fluorescence. Emission wavelength of disc material is equivalent to color perception. It differs due to different collagen composition of the intervertebral disc components from yellow-green to blue-green and can be visualized in situ by naked eye.UV-auto fluorescence of inter-vertebral discs is a new clinical tool that has the potential to differentiate disc material from the anatomical surrounding, to distinguish between different fractions of the disc and to give information on the quality and status of the disc material. Since the technology has just emerged, it needs further investigations to quantify the clinical observations reported in this paper.