2011 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Identifying the origin and niche environment of nucleus pulposus progenitor cells of the intervertebral disc and its therapeutic applications
| Project/Area Number |
22791406
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Field |
Orthopaedic surgery
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| Research Institution | Tokai University |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2010 – 2011
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| Keywords | 整形外科学 / 脊椎脊髄病学 / 椎間板 / 再生医療 / 幹細胞 |
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| Research Abstract |
Despite many reports on the identification of endogenous stem/progenitor cell populations in various musculoskeletal tissues, no definitive cell population has been reported in NP tissue. Furthermore, the origin or niche that regulates the self-renewal and maintenance of NP stem/progenitor cells is also unknown. The primary goal of the current study was to identify a set of specific markers to isolate the cell population sharing universal stem cell characteristics from the NP. Then we sought to determine the presence of a stem-cell niche in NP tissue and the role of NP stem cells in ageing and degeneration of the IVD in humans. Results demonstrated that in mouse and human nucleus pulposus cell populations, isolated by defined surface markers possess stem cell characteristics, such as clonogenicity, self-renewal and multi-potent differentiation ability in vitro, and tissue maintenance ability in vivo.
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