Department of Orthopaedics, Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200003, P.R. China.
Trauma Center, Shanghai General Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 201620, P.R. China.
Int J Mol Med. 2018 May;41(5):2553-2564. doi: 10.3892/ijmm.2018.3454. Epub 2018 Feb 2.
Transplantation of nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) into the intervertebral disc (IVD) has been demonstrated to be an effective treatment of degenerative disc disease (DDD). However, the underlying mechanisms have remained to be sufficiently elucidated. The aim of the present study was to explore the potential cell migration and anti‑apoptosis efficacy of NPCs in the treatment of DDD. NPCs cultured from rats expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP‑NPCs) were transplanted into the degenerated IVD, and the migration of GFP‑NPCs, as well as the degeneration and apoptosis of the IVD were detected to evaluate the therapeutic effect in vivo. In vitro, disc chondrocytes (DCs) and annulus fibrosus cells (AFCs) were co‑cultured to explore the underlying mechanism. The results demonstrated that injection of NPCs suppressed DDD by inhibiting apoptosis and increasing extracellular matrix in vivo and in vitro. NPCs migrated into the inner AF in vivo, and NPC migration was observed to be promoted by AFCs and DCs in vitro, particularly by damaged AFCs. These results demonstrated the anti‑apoptotic effects and migratory capacity of allogenic NPCs transplanted into the IVD, which evidences the contribution of NPCs to disc regeneration and provide a novel strategy for treating DDD.
将核髓细胞（NPC）移植到椎间盘（IVD）中已被证明是治疗退行性椎间盘疾病（DDD）的有效方法。然而，其潜在的机制仍需充分阐明。本研究旨在探讨 NPC 治疗 DDD 的潜在细胞迁移和抗凋亡作用。从表达绿色荧光蛋白（GFP-NPC）的大鼠中培养 NPC 并将其移植到退变的 IVD 中，检测 GFP-NPC 的迁移以及 IVD 的退变和凋亡，以评估体内的治疗效果。在体外，共培养椎间盘软骨细胞（DCs）和纤维环细胞（AFCs）以探讨其潜在机制。结果表明，NPC 的注射通过抑制体内和体外的凋亡和增加细胞外基质来抑制 DDD。NPC 在体内迁移到内层 AF，体外观察到 NPC 的迁移受到 AFCs 和 DCs 的促进，尤其是受到损伤的 AFCs 的促进。这些结果表明，同种异体 NPC 移植到 IVD 中具有抗凋亡作用和迁移能力，这证明了 NPC 对椎间盘再生的贡献，并为治疗 DDD 提供了一种新策略。
