A Tissue Engineering Based Approach to Regeneration of Intervertebral Disc

Abstract

Thermosensitive scaffold was suggested for the partial replacement of nucleus in degenerated intervertebral disc with a minimally invasive surgical procedure. Biocompatible and thermosensitive scaffolds were prepared by coupling reaction of Pluronic with chitosan and it was inserted in degenerative spinal motion segments. To confirm the regeneration of degenerative discs and subsequent structural stability, cell proliferation and morphological changes were evaluated using relaxation time, quantity of DNA and histological examination. As a result, inserted group showed higher relaxation time, reduced the decrement of DNA contents, and accumulated GAG amount. The results confirmed the potential of thermosensitive scaffolds and minimally invasive surgical procedure for the regeneration of degenerative discs.