Intervertebral Disc Progenitors: Lessons Learned from Single-Cell RNA Sequencing and the Role in Intervertebral Disc Regeneration

Yu-Dong Zhao; Yong-Can Huang; Jia-Liang Lin; Wei-Shi Li

doi:10.3390/bioengineering10060713

Intervertebral Disc Progenitors: Lessons Learned from Single-Cell RNA Sequencing and the Role in Intervertebral Disc Regeneration

Bioengineering (Basel). 2023 Jun 12;10(6):713. doi: 10.3390/bioengineering10060713.

Authors

Yu-Dong Zhao^{1

2

3}, Yong-Can Huang⁴, Jia-Liang Lin^{1

2

3}, Wei-Shi Li^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedics, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing 100191, China.
² Engineering Research Center of Bone and Joint Precision Medicine, Beijing 100191, China.
³ Beijing Key Laboratory of Spinal Disease Research, Beijing 100191, China.
⁴ Shenzhen Engineering Laboratory of Orthopaedic Regenerative Technologies, Department of Spine Surgery, Peking University Shenzhen Hospital, Shenzhen 518036, China.

Abstract

The tremendous personal and economic burden worldwide caused by low back pain (LBP) has been surging in recent years. While intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is the leading cause of LBP and vast efforts have been made to develop effective therapies, this problem is far from being resolved, as most treatments, such as painkillers and surgeries, mainly focus on relieving the symptoms rather than reversing the cause of IVDD. However, as stem/progenitor cells possess the potential to regenerate IVD, a deeper understanding of the early development and role of these cells could help to improve the effectiveness of stem/progenitor cell therapy in treating LBP. Single-cell RNA sequencing results provide fresh insights into the heterogeneity and development patterns of IVD progenitors; additionally, we compare mesenchymal stromal cells and IVD progenitors to provide a clearer view of the optimal cell source proposed for IVD regeneration.

Keywords: intervertebral disc; progenitors; regeneration; single-cell RNA sequencing.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (No. 2021A1515220086) and the Shenzhen Science and Technology Programs (No. JCYJ20190809182213535 & No. GJHZ20210705142543019).