Tissue-engineered intervertebral disc and chondrogenesis using human nucleus pulposus regulated through TGF-beta1 in platelet-rich plasma.

Human intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration often initiated from the human nucleus pulposus (hNP) with aging leading to IVD destruction and extracellular matrix (ECM) depletion. Previously, we have successfully employed transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) to promote chondrogenesis of mesenchymal progenitor cells (MPCs) and immortalized human mesenchymal stem cells. In this study, we examine the role of TGF-beta1 in platelet-rich plasma (PRP) on disc regeneration, including proliferation, redifferentiation, and the reconstitution of tissue-engineered NP.

Tissue engineered cartilage using human articular chondrocytes immortalized by HPV-16 E6 and E7 genes.

Chondrocytes are useful as a cell culture system for studying arthritic degeneration in tissue engineered cartilage. However, primary chondrocytes have short in vitro lifespan and rapid shift of collagen phenotype. In this study, we used a high dosage of retroviral vector LXSN16E6E7 to transduce human primary chondrocytes and obtained an actively proliferating cell line, designated hPi, which expresses HPV-16 E6/E7 mRNA in early passages.