Liu Chen, Guo Qianping, Li Jun, Wang Shenghao, Wang Yibin, Li Bin, Yang Huilin
Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China; Orthopedic Institute, Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
PLoS One. 2014 Sep 26;9(9):e108239. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0108239. eCollection 2014.
Annulus fibrosus (AF) injuries can lead to substantial deterioration of intervertebral disc (IVD) which characterizes degenerative disc disease (DDD). However, treatments for AF repair/regeneration remain challenging due to the intrinsic heterogeneity of AF tissue at cellular, biochemical, and biomechanical levels. In this study, we isolated and characterized a sub-population of cells from rabbit AF tissue which formed colonies in vitro and could self-renew. These cells showed gene expression of typical surface antigen molecules characterizing mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), including CD29, CD44, and CD166. Meanwhile, they did not express negative markers of MSCs such as CD4, CD8, and CD14. They also expressed Oct-4, nucleostemin, and SSEA-4 proteins. Upon induced differentiation they showed typical osteogenesis, chondrogenesis, and adipogenesis potential. Together, these AF-derived colony-forming cells possessed clonogenicity, self-renewal, and multi-potential differentiation capability, the three criteria characterizing MSCs. Such AF-derived stem cells may potentially be an ideal candidate for DDD treatments using cell therapies or tissue engineering approaches.
纤维环（AF）损伤可导致椎间盘（IVD）严重退变，这是椎间盘退变疾病（DDD）的特征。然而，由于AF组织在细胞、生化和生物力学水平上存在内在异质性，AF修复/再生的治疗仍然具有挑战性。在本研究中，我们从兔AF组织中分离并鉴定了一群细胞，这些细胞在体外形成集落并能自我更新。这些细胞表现出典型的间充质干细胞（MSC）表面抗原分子的基因表达，包括CD29、CD44和CD166。同时，它们不表达MSC的阴性标志物，如CD4、CD8和CD14。它们还表达Oct-4、核干细胞因子和SSEA-4蛋白。在诱导分化后，它们表现出典型的成骨、成软骨和成脂潜能。总之，这些源自AF的集落形成细胞具有克隆性、自我更新和多能分化能力，这是鉴定MSC的三个标准。这种源自AF的干细胞可能是使用细胞疗法或组织工程方法治疗DDD的理想候选者。
