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Updated: Jan 31, 2026

Preparation of Intact Bovine Tail Intervertebral Discs for Organ Culture
Published on: February 2, 2012
Engineering a biomimetic integrated scaffold for intervertebral disc replacement
Lilong Du1, Qiang Yang1, Jiamin Zhang2
1Department of Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery, Tianjin Hospital, Tianjin 300211, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Tissue engineering technology provides a promising alternative to restore physiological functionality of damaged intervertebral disc (IVD). Advanced tissue engineering strategies for IVD have increasingly focused on engineering IVD regions combined the inner nucleus pulposus (NP) and surrounding annulus fibrosus (AF) tissue. However, simulating the cellular and matrix structures and function of the complex structure of IVD is still a critical challenge. Toward this goal, this study engineered a biomimetic AF-NP composite with circumferentially oriented poly(ε-caprolactone) microfibers seeded with AF cells, with an alginate hydrogel encapsulating NP cells as a core. Fluorescent imaging and histological analysis showed that AF cells spread along the circumferentially oriented PCL microfibers and NP cells colonized in the alginate hydrogel similar to native IVD, without obvious migration and mixing between the AF and NP region. Engineered IVD implants showed progressive tissue formation over time after subcutaneous implantation in nude mice, which were indicated by deposition and organization of extracellular matrix and enhanced mechanical properties. In terms of form and function of IVD-like tissue, our engineered biomimetic AF-NP composites have potential application for IVD replacement.
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