Abstract:Introduction
The native microenvironment of intervertebral disk (IVD) cells is characterized by adverse physicochemical conditions. Low cellularity and proliferation rate is a hallmark of the disk, possibly resulting from the absence of vascularization, which leads to the insufficient nutrition of its cells. Nutrients diffuse from the vessels of the endplates, which may sometimes be several mm away from the IVD and especially from nucleus pulposus cells. On the other hand, the IVD is confronted with several st… Show more
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