Recent advances in the repair of degenerative intervertebral disc for preclinical applications

Yijian Ying; Kaiwen Cai; Xiongxiong Cai; Kai Zhang; Rongzhang Qiu; Guoqiang Jiang; Kefeng Luo

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2023.1259731

Recent advances in the repair of degenerative intervertebral disc for preclinical applications

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2023 Sep 22:11:1259731. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1259731. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yijian Ying¹, Kaiwen Cai², Xiongxiong Cai¹, Kai Zhang², Rongzhang Qiu¹, Guoqiang Jiang², Kefeng Luo²

Affiliations

¹ Health Science Center, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.
² Department of Orthopaedics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China.

Abstract

The intervertebral disc (IVD) is a load-bearing, avascular tissue that cushions pressure and increases flexibility in the spine. Under the influence of obesity, injury, and reduced nutrient supply, it develops pathological changes such as fibular annulus (AF) injury, disc herniation, and inflammation, eventually leading to intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Lower back pain (LBP) caused by IDD is a severe chronic disorder that severely affects patients' quality of life and has a substantial socioeconomic impact. Patients may consider surgical treatment after conservative treatment has failed. However, the broken AF cannot be repaired after surgery, and the incidence of re-protrusion and reoccurring pain is high, possibly leading to a degeneration of the adjacent vertebrae. Therefore, effective treatment strategies must be explored to repair and prevent IDD. This paper systematically reviews recent advances in repairing IVD, describes its advantages and shortcomings, and explores the future direction of repair technology.

Keywords: biomaterials; degeneration; fibrous annulus; hydrogel; intervertebral disc; repair; scaffold; tissue engineering.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by Medical and Health Research Project of Zhejiang Province (Grant No: 2021427071).