Understanding the genetic variations of genes can predict which individuals have a higher probability of developing IDD, enabling earlier prevention. Currently, there is a lack of systematic integration regarding the acellular matrix degradation enzyme polymorphism in IDD. A notable correlation between the MMP-9 rs17576 mutation and an elevated susceptibility to disc degeneration.

The PCD of NPCs plays a pivotal role in the regulation of critical functions during IDD. Targeting the PCD of NPCs represents a promising avenue for therapeutic intervention in IDD. The repair and regeneration of NP tissue hold significant potential in the treatment of IDD.

Chronic lower back pain, often caused by degenerative disk disease (DDD), is a major global health issue with significant socioeconomic impact. Although the relationship between disk degeneration and pain is well-established, the role of low pH in contributing to pain has been underexplored. This review examines how hyperacidity in DDD affects the intervertebral disk, potentially contributing to pain through mechanisms like cell catabolism, neoinnervation, and inflammation, and emphasizes the need for further research to better understand these processes and improve treatment options.

This manuscript shows how the scientific literature can be used to proof that a novel spinal implant meets all necessary safety and performance standards for clinical application. The scientific literature has gained more and more importance for this purpose over the last few years, but still a structured approach from literature to implant approval has not yet been described anywhere so far. This work aims to close the gap between science and practical application in this field.

The study demonstrate a critical role of the Tnf-α/Tnfr signaling in promoting age- and LSI-induced IVDD in mice. Targeting this pathway may be a novel strategy to prevent and treat IVDD development and progression.

This study is the “first” to report a significant association of gut microbiome dysbiosis and the association with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis in symptomatic patients, noting pro-inflammatory bacterial taxa. This work provides a foundation for future work addressing the role of the gut microbiome in association with spine health and disease.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is an age-related orthopedic degenerative disease characterized by recurrent episodes of lower back pain, the pathogenesis of which is not fully understood. The aim of this study was to identify key biomarkers of IVDD and its causes.

Biomechanical testing after spinal animal experiments is often neglected because testing machines for flexibility measurement are large and difficult to transport, and the same specimen can only be used ex vivo for either biomechanics or biology. With the help of a new portable spine tester, the same specimen can be used for both biological and biomechanical testing, avoiding additional animals and improving the 3R principle. The machine has been validated for future use in any lab all over the world.

This finite element study Innovatively investigated the biomechanical characteristics of hybrid surgery to treat two-level discontinuous ASD in ACDF revision surgery. The results indicated that D-C-D, P-C-D, and D-C-P are good revision surgery choices on reducing the biomechanical responses, and D-C-D was the best choice. P-C-P can be the best recommendation when it does not meet the CDA indications.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) derived from human intervertebral disc cells present markers CD9, CD81, CD82, ALIX, FLOT1/2, TSG101, and ANXA5 with differential expression levels linked to the degenerative grade of the tissue. The proteomic cargo is majorly shared but the expression levels vary with degeneration grade. The differentially expressed proteins are associated with (1) cell adhesion and ECM–receptor interaction, (2) ECM organization and structure, and (3) vesicle-mediated transport in the non-, mildly-, and degenerate samples, respectively.

Preclinical development and characterization of a linezolid formulation for percutaneous intradiscal administration to treat chronic low back pain associated with Modic changes type 1. In vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo studies demonstrate that a suspension of micronized linezolid is suitable for intradiscal administration, is efficacious in a sheep model of intradiscal bacterial infection, and is well tolerated.

A first-in-human Phase 1b study of a formulation of linezolid for intradiscal administration to treat chronic low back pain associated with Modic Type 1 changes demonstrates consistent pharmacokinetics enabling selection of a dose regimen to assess efficacy.

The spatial–temporal remodeling progression of the intervertebral disc in the context of cigarette smoke exposure and smoking cessation remains unclear. This study established a smoke exposure Sprague–Dawley rat model to quantify solute diffusivity and tissue porosity regionally, and to characterize disc morphologic structure. It demonstrated that 2 months of smoke exposure led to regional intervertebral disc remodeling, as evidenced by altered structural composition and solute diffusion properties, particularly in the cartilage endplate region, and that smoke cessation failed to reverse the detrimental impact of smoke exposure.

Clinical characteristics of AIS with asymmetrical ESR1 expression in paraspinal muscle progenitor cells were investigated. There were 48% AIS patients with significantly decreased ESR1 expression in concave paraspinal muscle progenitor cells, while asymmetrical ESR1 expression was correlated with asymmetrical paraspinal muscle CSA, asymmetrical fatty infiltration, and more severe scoliotic deformity.

Bone cement displacement, resulting in severe back pain and exacerbation of kyphosis, was a chronic complication after vertebral augmentation in the treatment of Kümmell disease (KD). Data of patients treated with PKP and HPS-KP were collected and evaluated. Through finite element biomechanical analysis of different surgical methods in the treatment of KD, it was found that the operation using a hollow pedicle screw was more effective in preventing the occurrence of bone cement displacement.

This study explores the genetic-level causal relationships between inflammatory cytokines and scoliosis using bidirectional Mendelian randomization analysis. The results demonstrate a significant association between the cytokine Resistin (RETN) and scoliosis progression, suggesting RETN as a potential therapeutic target.

Network pharmacology and bioinformatics analyses suggest that puerarin may mitigate intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) by inhibiting nucleus pulposus (NP) cell apoptosis. This hypothesis was validated through in vitro experiments, which demonstrated that puerarin significantly reduces apoptosis in NPCs.

Genetically determined rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), knee osteoarthritis (KOA), and hip osteoarthritis (HOA) were found to have causal associations with an increased risk of low back pain. HOA exhibited a particularly strong causal association with an elevated risk of low back pain. Further research is needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms behind the causal relationships between HOA and low back pain.

Six human thoracic and lumbar spine specimens (C7-S) with entire rib cage from young adult donors (26–45 years) without clinically relevant deformity were biomechanically tested to investigate primary and coupled motions of all segments without instrumentation and with posterior rod instrumentations ranging from T2 to L1 and from T8 to L3. Instrumentation was found to significantly (p < 0.05) reduce the primary flexibility in all motion directions and to diminish the natural coupling behavior between lateral bending and axial rotation, primarily in the upper thoracic spine, potentially causing correction loss and junctional deformity in the long-term.

This study, employing multiomics approaches, revealed that the genes associated with lumbar disc degeneration are regulated by DNA methylation and identified genetic variances between gene expression and the gut microbiota. These findings lay the foundation for future targeted functional studies, potentially leading to the development of suitable therapeutic interventions and disease prevention strategies.

This study characterizes cell sub-populations within the adult human intervertebral disc based on the expression of CD24, GD2 and TIE2. The findings highlight the importance of studying discrete cell sub-populations, especially CD24+ NP cells to better understand their role in NP homeostasis.

There is a current unmet need in the development of regenerative therapies for degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Here microRNAs were delivered with enhanced cell penetrating peptides, both individually and in pairs, with the aim of correcting the homeostatic anabolic:catabolic imbalance. We find that in an ex vivo organ model of the mildly degenerate disc, an anti-catabolic niche can be generated that can foster discogenic potential.