By FUMI YADA/ Staff Writer
May 2, 2022 at 08:00 JST
Researchers in Japan say a new treatment for lumbago may be in the offing after they restored intervertebral disk functions in rats by implanting tissue derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.
The team from Osaka University, working with other researchers, said they will continue to focus on ways to put their method to deal with the condition linked to lower back pain into practical application.
“Our finding can help devise a treatment for lumbago, a painful condition that affects many people, in the future,” said Noriyuki Tsumaki, a professor of tissue biochemistry at the university, who is part of the team.
The spinal column in humans has tissue called intervertebral disk between the vertebrae. An estimated 13 million people in Japan suffer from lumbago, of whom 20 to 40 percent are believed to suffer from disk degeneration, according to the researchers.
The inner core of the intervertebral disk consists of jelly-like tissue called nucleus pulposus, which acts to absorb impact and helps to give the backbone its flexibility. When the nucleus pulposus becomes damaged or deformed due to aging or pressure, it results in pinched nerves that cause lower back pain.
Once it is compromised, nucleus pulposus does not heal by itself. No therapeutic agents are currently available to treat the problem.
Based on a survey using monkey nucleus pulposus, the team discovered that the jelly-like nucleus pulposus contains cells similar to those in cartilage.
This allowed the team members to develop cartilage-like tissue from human iPS cells. The tissue was transplanted into rats whose nucleus pulposus had been removed.
The grafted cells functioned normally for at least six months. Rats with transplanted tissue recovered their nucleus pulposus, which kept their intervertebral disk free from degeneration, though the structure degenerated in the rodents that did not undergo the transplant procedure.
The researchers are looking to test the effectiveness and safety of their technique with larger animals.
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Cartilage-like tissue created from human-derived induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells (Provided by Osaka University professor Noriyuki Tsumaki)
