Factor to boost MSCs and collagen II activity in intervertebral disc degeneration identified

A new study has demonstrated the tissue regenerative potential of a chemoattractant delivery system that can draw mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to the site of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration. The study, carried out in a cow model of IVD degeneration, not only showed the recruitment of regenerative cells, but also reported increased collagen production, as described in an article published in Tissue Engineering Part A.

Raquel Madeira Gonçalves, Ph.D., Universidade do Porto, Portugal and a team of researchers from Universidade do Porto and the AO Research Institute Davos, Switzerland, described the hyaluronan based-chemoattractant delivery system they developed in the article entitled "Stromal Cell Derived Factor-1-Mediated Migration of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhances Collagen Type II Expression in Intervertebral Disc." In the presence of the system, which contained stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1), migration of MSCs to the degenerative site was enhanced. In addition, the researchers measured higher levels of collagen type II and of pro-catabolic factors produced by the MSCs that would contribute to enhanced remodeling of the extracellular matrix.

"This study exemplifies the impact of drug delivery on enhancing a specific cellular activity and thus reverting a tissue degenerative process," says Tissue Engineering Co-Editor-in-Chief Antonios G. Mikos, Ph.D., Louis Calder Professor at Rice University, Houston, TX.