[The three-dimensional culture of adult mesenchymal stem cells for intervertebral disc tissue engineering]

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is one of the major causes of low back pain. As current clinical treatments are aimed at restoring biomechanical function and providing symptomatic relief, the methods focused on biological repair have aroused interest and several tissue engineering approaches using different cell types have been proposed. Owing to the unsuitable nature of degenerate cells for tissue engineering, attention has been given to the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). In this connection, we have made a study on the characteristics of MSCs derived from adult bone marrow and on the feasibility of constructing IVD tissue-engineering cell under a Three-Dimensional Pellet Culture System. The human bone marrow MSCs were isolated and purified with density gradient solution and attachment-independent culture system. MSCs isolated using this method are a homogeneous population as indicated by morphology and other criteria. They have the capacity for self-renewal and proliferation, and the multilineage potential to differentiate.