Intervertebral Disc Stem/Progenitor Cells: A Promising “Seed” for Intervertebral Disc Regeneration

Figure 2

Changes of the IVD microenvironment and IVDPCs in normal IVD versus degeneration. IVDD can lead to decreased metabolism and increased anabolism in NP cells, resulting in loss of proteoglycans and hydration in NP, as well as bad impacts on the ECM integrity. The degenerated IVDs are usually acidic, inflammatory, and nutritionally deficient, which provide an adverse microenvironment for IVDSPCs. IVDD can result in decreased chemotaxis, survival, and vitality of the IVDSPCs, leading to the decreased numbers of IVDSPCs. IVDSPCs in degenerated discs also exhibit impaired differentiation potency and proliferation capacity.