Olmarker Kjell
Muskuloskeletal Research, Department of Medical chemistry and Cellbiology, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Open Orthop J. 2011 Apr 28;5:154-9. doi: 10.2174/1874325001105010154.
It has been observed that puncture of a lumbar disc may induce formation of a nodule on the surface of the disc and osteophytes. It is not known if this is based on the presence of a foreign tissue or specifically by the presence of nucleus pulposus or on the disc injury. In this study these mechanisms were separated by comparing disc puncture with application of nucleus pulposus without disc injury, with superficial disc injury without nucleus pulposus and with application of fat. Fifty rats underwent facetectomy of the left L4-5 facet. Ten additional rats were used as donor rats. The rats were exposed to disc puncture (n=10), application of homologous nucleus pulposus (n=10), application of homologous fat tissue (n=10), superficial disc injury (n=10) and ten rats served as control. After 3 weeks the rats were examined macroscopically regarding presence of disc nodules and osteophytes. A limited histological analysis was performed to obtain a microscopic overview of any observed changes. In rats with application of fat, superficial disc injury and in sham controls there were almost no changes observed. However, in rats with disc puncture and applied nucleus pulposus there were clear disc nodules and osteophytes noted. Microscopically the nodules comprised granulation tissue and the osteophytes cortical bone. In conclusion, the data indicate that the presence of nucleus pulposus is more likely to be responsible for the formation of disc nodules and osteophytes than disc injury or the presence of a foreign tissue. This may provide new insights in the mechanisms regarding the formation of disc herniations and osteophytes.
据观察，腰椎间盘穿刺可能会诱发椎间盘表面形成结节和骨赘。目前尚不清楚这是基于异物组织的存在，还是具体由于髓核的存在或椎间盘损伤所致。在本研究中，通过将椎间盘穿刺与未造成椎间盘损伤的髓核植入、无髓核的椎间盘表面损伤以及脂肪植入进行比较，对这些机制进行了区分。五十只大鼠接受了左侧L4-5小关节切除术。另外十只大鼠用作供体大鼠。将大鼠分为椎间盘穿刺组（n = 10）、同源髓核植入组（n = 10）、同源脂肪组织植入组（n = 10）、椎间盘表面损伤组（n = 10），另有十只大鼠作为对照组。3周后，对大鼠进行宏观检查，观察椎间盘结节和骨赘的存在情况。进行了有限的组织学分析，以获得对任何观察到的变化的微观概述。在脂肪植入、椎间盘表面损伤的大鼠以及假手术对照组中，几乎未观察到变化。然而，在椎间盘穿刺和髓核植入的大鼠中，发现了明显的椎间盘结节和骨赘。在显微镜下，结节由肉芽组织组成，骨赘由皮质骨组成。总之，数据表明，与椎间盘损伤或异物组织的存在相比，髓核的存在更有可能是椎间盘结节和骨赘形成的原因。这可能为椎间盘突出症和骨赘形成的机制提供新的见解。
