title: Development of an organ culture system for long-term survival of the intact human intervertebral disc.
abstract: METHODS
  Human intervertebral discs were used to develop an intact whole disc organ culture system with long-term cell viability.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop and validate a long-term organ culture system for intact human intervertebral discs, in which the potential for biologic repair of disc degeneration can be studied.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Intervertebral disc degeneration is a common cause of back pain, which can be costly to the health care system and have a negative impact on the quality of life of the patient. Once injured the adult human intervertebral disc seems incapable of intrinsic repair, but the early stages of disc degeneration can potentially be retarded or even reversed by the administration of growth factors to promote new extracellular matrix synthesis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Intervertebral discs were prepared by three isolation techniques and placed in free swelling organ culture. Cell viability, disc swelling, glycosaminoglycan content, and extracellular matrix degradation were assessed under a variety of culture conditions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Human intervertebral discs isolated with intact cartilage end plates retained cell viability and did not undergo matrix degradation when cultured for 4 weeks with both a high and low nutrient level. This contrasted with the excessive cell death that was observed if the cartilage end plates were removed before culture or if vertebral bone was retained.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Retention of the cartilage end plates limits tissue swelling and permits efficient nutrient supply, thus allowing viable long-term organ culture. The availability of such a system will permit the repair potential of therapeutic candidates to be studied in human discs with naturally occurring degeneration. Furthermore, the system is simple and economical, as no apparatus is needed to limit the detrimental effects of excessive tissue swelling.
authors.affiliation: Orthopaedic Research Laboratory, Royal Victoria Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gawri
authors.forename: Fackson
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mwale
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ouellet
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Roughley
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Steffen
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Antoniou
authors.forename: Lisbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Haglund
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016923:Cell Death; D002470:Cell Survival; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013904:Thoracic Vertebrae / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014022:Tissue Survival; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006025:Glycosaminoglycans; D005947:Glucose