[Development of an intervertebral disc organ culture model and its clinical significance].
OBJECTIVE
To develop an in vivo intervertebral disc organ culture model for a physiological environment and evaluate its clinical significance.


METHODS
Murine functional spine units (FSUs) were isolated from 10-week-old mouse lumbar spines. FSUs consisted of two vertebrae surrounding one disc. Murine FSUs were cultured in medium and different concentrations of bupivacaine for different periods. Histological change and cell viability within intervertebral disc tissue were assessed by histological staining and MTT (3-(4,5-cimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay.


RESULTS
Murine disc organs cultured for up to 4 weeks showed minimal changes in tissue histology and cell viability. A 1-hour incubation in 0.25% bupivacaine resulted in about 25% cell death while 0.5% bupivacaine exposure yielded 60% cell death over the same time.


CONCLUSIONS
Murine intervertebral disc maintains the integrity of tissue structures and cell functions for an ex vivo 4-week culture. And the exposure to bupivacaine dramatically decreases cell viability in a dose-dependent manner.
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Beijing Haidian Hospital, Beijing 100080, China. Email: wdongcn@yahoo.com.
Dong
D
Wang
Qing
Q
Dong
Kevin
K
Ngo
Nam
N
Vo
D000818:Animals; D002045:Bupivacaine; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000166:cytology; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques
D002045:Bupivacaine