Thonar E, An H, Masuda K
Department of Biochemistry, Rush Medical College at Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
Biochem Soc Trans. 2002 Nov;30(Pt 6):874-8. doi: 10.1042/bst0300874.
Intervertebral disc cells cultured in alginate gel are capable of reforming in alginate, a matrix that consists of two compartments: a rim of metabolically active cell-associated matrix and a more abundant, but metabolically less active, further removed matrix. At any one age and in most species, the cell-associated matrix formed by a nucleus pulposus or annulus fibrosus cell cultured in this way is less abundant than that formed by an articular chondrocyte. In both the cell-associated matrix and further removed matrix, the ratio of aggrecan to collagen is significantly higher in the case of nucleus pulposus than of annulus fibrosus, a feature that also distinguishes the matrices of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus in vivo. Nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells from older donors show a decreased ability to reform a cell-associated matrix rich in aggrecan. There is, however, some evidence that gene therapy and/or exposure of the cells to defined stimulatory factors can help overcome some of these age-related limitations. This contention is supported by recent evidence that nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells from adult donors can be manipulated to form, using the recently developed alginate-recovered chondrocyte system, a resilient tissue that bears many of the characteristics of the tissue in which these cells reside in vivo.
在藻酸盐凝胶中培养的椎间盘细胞能够在藻酸盐中重塑，藻酸盐是一种由两个部分组成的基质：一层代谢活跃的细胞相关基质和一层更丰富但代谢活性较低、距离更远的基质。在任何一个年龄以及大多数物种中，以这种方式培养的髓核或纤维环细胞形成的细胞相关基质都比关节软骨细胞形成的少。在细胞相关基质和距离更远的基质中，髓核中聚集蛋白聚糖与胶原蛋白的比例显著高于纤维环，这一特征在体内也区分了髓核和纤维环的基质。来自老年供体的髓核和纤维环细胞形成富含聚集蛋白聚糖的细胞相关基质的能力下降。然而，有一些证据表明基因治疗和/或将细胞暴露于特定的刺激因子可以帮助克服其中一些与年龄相关的限制。最近的证据支持了这一观点，即使用最近开发的藻酸盐回收软骨细胞系统，可以操纵成年供体的髓核和纤维环细胞形成一种具有弹性的组织，该组织具有这些细胞在体内所处组织的许多特征。
