Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Models for Pathophysiology and Regenerative Therapy -Benefits and Limitations

Abstract

Aim: This review summarized the recent intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) models and described their advantages and potential disadvantages, aiming to provide an overview for the current condition of IDD model establishment and new ideas for new strategies development of the treatment and prevention of IDD.

Methods: The database of PubMed was searched up to May 2021 with the following search terms: nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, cartilage endplate, intervertebral disc(IVD), intervertebral disc degeneration, animal model, organ culture, bioreactor, inflammatory reaction, mechanical stress, pathophysiology, epidemiology. Any IDD model-related articles were collected and summarized.

Results: The best IDD model should have the features of repeatability, measurability and controllability. There are a lot of aspects to be considered in the selection of animals. Mice, rats and rabbits are low-cost and easy to access. However, their IVD size and shape are more different from human anatomy than pigs, cattle, sheep and goats. Organ culture models and animal models are two options in model establishment for IDD. The IVD organ culture model can put the studying variables into the controllable system for transitional research. Unlike the animal model, the organ culture model can only be used to evaluate the short-term effects and it is not applicable in simulating the complex process of IDD. Similarly, the animal models induced by different methods also have their advantages and disadvantages. For studying the mechanism of IDD and the corresponding treatment and prevention strategies, the selection of model should be individualized based on the purpose of each study.

Conclusions: Various models have different characteristics and scope of application due to their different rationales and methods of construction. Currently, there is no experimental model that can perfectly mimic the degenerative process of human IVD. Personalized selection of appropriate model based on study purpose and experimental designing can enhance the possibility to obtain reliable and real results.

Keywords:

• Intervertebral disk degeneration
• animal model
• organ culture
• nucleus pulposus
• annulus fibrosus
• cartilaginous endplate

This article is referred to by:

On Disc Degeneration Models. Commentary on: “Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Models for Pathophysiology and Regenerative Therapy – Benefits and Limitations”

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Editage (app.editage.com) for English language editing. The Doctoral Research Fund of Lanzhou University Second Hospital;the Cuiying Technology Innovation Project of Lanzhou University Second Hospital;the Chinese Medicine Administration Research Project of Gansu province;the Lanzhou University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Cultivation Project;

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contributions

Yidian Wang, Jihe KANG and Xuewen Kang conceived and wrote the article. Yidian Wang, Jihe KANG, Xudong Guo and Liang Yang contributed to making of figures. Daxue Zhu, Mingqiang Liu and Guangzhi Zhang contributed to proofreading of the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.