Given the importance of the cartilage endplate (CEP) in low back pain (LBP), there is a need to characterize the human CEP at the molecular, cell, and tissue levels to inform treatment strategies that target it. The goal of this study was to characterize the structure, matrix composition, and cell phenotype of the human CEP compared with adjacent tissues within the intervertebral joint: the nucleus pulposus (NP), annulus fibrosus (AF), and articular cartilage (AC). Isolated CEP, NP, AF, and AC tissues and cells were evaluated for cell morphology, matrix composition, collagen structure, glycosaminoglycan content, and gene and protein expression. The CEP contained elongated cells that mainly produce a collagen-rich interterritorial matrix and a proteoglycan-rich territorial matrix. The CEP contained significantly fewer glycosaminoglycans than the NP tissue. Significant differences in matrix and cell marker gene expression were observed between CEP and NP or AF, with the greatest differences between CEP and AC. We were able to distinguish NP from CEP cells using collagen-10 (COLX), highlighting COLX as a potential CEP marker.Our findings suggest that at the cell and tissue levels, the CEP demonstrates both similarities and differences when compared with NP, AF, and hyaline AC. This study highlights a unique structure, matrix composition, and cell phenotype for the human CEP and can help to inform regenerative strategies that target the intervertebral disc joint in chronic LBP. K E Y W O R D S cartilage endplate, cell phenotype, characterization, intervertebral disc, low back pain 1 | INTRODUCTION Low back pain (LBP) is a major source of socioeconomic burden worldwide with an annual cost of greater than $100 billion in the United States. 1 It is the second most frequent reason for visits to primary care physicians 1 and opioid prescription. 2 Despite a lifetime prevalence of LBP at 84%, 3 the underlying mechanisms of LBP remain unknown. Nonspecific LBP is highly associated with lumbar intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration, 3 but treatment strategies are limited and fail to target the underlying cellular mechanisms implicated in this disease.The healthy IVD is avascular and aneural and provides pain-free movement of the spinal column. It is composed of a gelatinous core of proteoglycans, the nucleus pulposus (NP), concentric rings of type-1 collagen, the annulus fibrosus (AF), and presumably hyaline-like cartilage