Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society Asia Pacific Meeting 2011

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a medical condition whereby the intervertebral discs (IVD) of the human spine degenerates and causes pain which significantly affects the quality of one’s life. Its prevalence has sparked off much research in deciphering its causes and also overcoming the limitation in current treatments. Recently, attempts to improve the treatment for this degenerative problem have turned to seek their answer from regenerative medicine. In this context, mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) is one of the most promising candidates for treating DDD because of its multipotency and immuno-privilege. METHODS: In this project, we attempted to solve the disc regeneration problem with injectable tissue engineering constructs based on the use of micro-encapsulation and decellularization techniques. Our approach was to culture nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) within collagen microspheres whilst maintaining their phenotype and other characteristics, so that they would remodel the matrix microenvironment to one that was conducive for MSCs differentiation into new NPCs when MSCs were introduced upon removal of the original NPCs. RESULTS: We demonstrated that NPCs could maintain survival within the collagen microspheres and produce NP-like ECM such as glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and Type II Collagen. An optimized decellularization protocol was established to completely remove the encapsulated NPCs with partial retention of the GAG-rich matrix. The decellularized microspheres were able to be repopulated with hMSCs. CONCLUSION: The NPC derived acellular matrix is able to support growth of hMSC. Ongoing efforts, include real-time PCR and mass spectrometric analysis, will be use to assess the potential of the acellular matrices to induce MSC differentiation into the NPC lineage.