Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People's Hospital, Shanghai, China.
J Tissue Eng Regen Med. 2021 Apr;15(4):299-321. doi: 10.1002/term.3172. Epub 2021 Mar 4.
Low back pain is an increasingly prevalent symptom mainly associated with intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. It is highly correlated with aging, as the nucleus pulposus (NP) dehydrates and annulus fibrosus fissure formatting, which finally results in the IVD herniation and related clinical symptoms. Hydrogels have been drawing increasing attention as the ideal candidates for IVD degeneration because of their unique properties such as biocompatibility, highly tunable mechanical properties, and especially the water absorption and retention ability resembling the normal NP tissue. Numerous innovative hydrogel polymers have been generated in the most recent years. This review article will first briefly describe the anatomy and pathophysiology of IVDs and current therapies with their limitations. Following that, the article introduces the hydrogel materials in the classification of their origins. Next, it reviews the recent hydrogel polymers explored for IVD regeneration and analyses what efforts have been made to overcome the existing limitations. Finally, the challenges and prospects of hydrogel-based treatments for IVD tissue are also discussed. We believe that these novel hydrogel-based strategies may shed light on new possibilities in IVD degeneration disease.
腰痛是一种日益普遍的症状，主要与椎间盘（IVD）退变有关。它与年龄高度相关，随着髓核（NP）脱水和纤维环裂缝形成，最终导致 IVD 突出和相关的临床症状。水凝胶因其独特的特性，如生物相容性、高度可调的机械性能，特别是具有类似于正常 NP 组织的吸水和保持能力，因此作为 IVD 退变的理想候选材料越来越受到关注。近年来已经产生了许多创新的水凝胶聚合物。本文首先简要描述了 IVD 的解剖结构和病理生理学以及目前具有局限性的治疗方法。接下来，文章介绍了按来源分类的水凝胶材料。然后，回顾了最近用于 IVD 再生的水凝胶聚合物，并分析了为克服现有局限性所做的努力。最后，还讨论了基于水凝胶的 IVD 组织治疗的挑战和前景。我们相信，这些新型的基于水凝胶的策略可能为 IVD 退变疾病带来新的可能性。
