Li Yun-He, Wu Hai-Long, Li Zhen, Li Bin-Bin, Zhu Man, Chen Di, Ye Fei-Hong, Yu Bin-Sheng, Huang Yong-Can
Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Spine Surgery, Department of Spine Surgery Peking University Shenzhen Hospital Shenzhen China.
Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory of Orthopaedic Regenerative Technologies, National & Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Orthopaedic Biomaterials Peking University Shenzhen Hospital Shenzhen China.
JOR Spine. 2022 Aug 25;5(3):e1218. doi: 10.1002/jsp2.1218. eCollection 2022 Sep.
Cartilaginous endplate (CEP) plays an essential role in intervertebral disc (IVD) health and disease. The aim was to compare the CEP structure of lumbar IVD and to reveal the detailed pattern of integration between the CEP and bony endplate (BEP) from different species.
A total of 34 IVDs (5 human, 5 goat, 8 pig, 8 rabbit, and 8 rat IVDs) were collected, fixed and midsagittally cut; in each IVD, one-half was used for histological staining to observe the CEP morphology, and the other half was used for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis to measure the diameters and distributions of collagen fibers in the central and peripheral CEP areas and to observe the pattern of CEP-BEP integration from different species.
The human, pig, goat, and rabbit IVDs had the typical BEP-CEP structure, but the rat CEP was directly connected with the growth plate. Human CEP was the thickest (896.95 ± 87.71 μm) among these species, followed by pig, goat, rat, and rabbit CEPs. Additionally, the mean cellular density of the rabbit CEP was the highest, which was 930 ± 202 per mm, followed by the rat, goat, pig, and human CEPs. In all the species, the collagen fiber diameter in the peripheral area was much bigger than that in the central area. The collagen fiber diameters of CEP from the human, pig, goat, and rat were distributed between 35 nm and 65 nm. The BEP and CEP were connected by the collagen from the CEP, aggregating into bundles or cross links with each other to form a network, and anchored to BEP.
Significant differences in the thickness, cellular density, and collagen characterization of CEPs from different species were demonstrated; the integration of BEP-CEP in humans, pigs, goats, and rabbits was mainly achieved by the collagen bundles anchoring system, while the typical BEP-CEP interface did not exist in rats.
软骨终板（CEP）在椎间盘（IVD）的健康与疾病中起着至关重要的作用。本研究旨在比较腰椎间盘的CEP结构，并揭示不同物种中CEP与骨终板（BEP）之间的详细整合模式。
共收集34个椎间盘（5个人类、5只山羊、8头猪、8只兔子和8只大鼠的椎间盘），进行固定并矢状面中部切开；在每个椎间盘中，一半用于组织学染色以观察CEP形态，另一半用于扫描电子显微镜（SEM）分析，以测量中央和周边CEP区域胶原纤维的直径和分布，并观察不同物种中CEP - BEP的整合模式。
人类、猪、山羊和兔子的椎间盘具有典型的BEP - CEP结构，但大鼠的CEP与生长板直接相连。在这些物种中，人类的CEP最厚（896.95 ± 87.71μm），其次是猪、山羊、大鼠和兔子的CEP。此外，兔子CEP的平均细胞密度最高，为每毫米930 ± 202个，其次是大鼠、山羊、猪和人类的CEP。在所有物种中，周边区域的胶原纤维直径远大于中央区域。人类、猪、山羊和大鼠的CEP胶原纤维直径分布在35nm至65nm之间。BEP和CEP通过来自CEP的胶原相连，相互聚集形成束状或交联形成网络，并锚定在BEP上。
不同物种的CEP在厚度、细胞密度和胶原特征方面存在显著差异；人类、猪、山羊和兔子中BEP - CEP的整合主要通过胶原束锚定系统实现，而大鼠中不存在典型的BEP - CEP界面。
