title: 3D characterization of morphological changes in the intervertebral disc and endplate during aging: A propagation phase contrast synchrotron micro-tomography study.
abstract: A better understanding of functional changes in the intervertebral disc (IVD) and interaction with endplate is essential to elucidate the pathogenesis of IVD degeneration disease (IDDD). To date, the simultaneous depiction of 3D micro-architectural changes of endplate with aging and interaction with IVD remains a technical challenge. We aim to characterize the 3D morphology changes of endplate and IVD during aging using PPCST. The lumbar vertebral level 4/5 IVDs harvested from 15-day-, 4- and 24-month-old mice were initially evaluated by PPCST with histological sections subsequently analyzed to confirm the imaging efficiency. Quantitative assessments of age-related trends after aging, including mean diameter, volume fraction and connectivity of the canals, and endplate porosity and thickness, reached a peak at 4 months and significantly decreased at 24 months. The IVD volume consistently exhibited same trend of variation with the endplate after aging. In this study, PPCST simultaneously provided comprehensive details of 3D morphological changes of the IVD and canal network in the endplate and the interaction after aging. The results suggest that PPCST has the potential to provide a new platform for attaining a deeper insight into the pathogenesis of IDDD, providing potential therapeutic targets.
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: School of Information Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Shenghui
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Shuangfei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Pediatrics-Endocrinology. Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, 21203 USA.
authors.forename: Francis
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tintani
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yongqiang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 51000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Tianding
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Sports Medicine, Research Centre of Sports Medicine, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Chunyue
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Department of Spine Surgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, China.
authors.forename: Jianzhong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D007403:Intervertebral Disc / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D055959:Intervertebral Disc Degeneration / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D017356:Synchrotrons; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography