Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 May;28(5):623-30.
doi: 10.1002/jor.21036.

Human nucleus pulposus cells significantly enhanced biological properties in a coculture system with direct cell-to-cell contact with autologous mesenchymal stem cells

Takuya Watanabe  1 , Daisuke Sakai, Yukihiro Yamamoto, Toru Iwashina, Kenji Serigano, Futoshi Tamura, Joji Mochida
Affiliations
Free article

Human nucleus pulposus cells significantly enhanced biological properties in a coculture system with direct cell-to-cell contact with autologous mesenchymal stem cells

Takuya Watanabe et al. J Orthop Res. 2010 May.
Free article

Abstract

Activated nucleus pulposus (NP) cells can be reinserted into the disc to inhibit intervertebral disc degeneration. Experimental studies in animals showed that using a coculture system with direct cell-to-cell contact with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) significantly upregulated the biological activity of NP cells. The purpose of this study is to determine whether this activation of NP cells by autologous MSCs is applicable to human cells in vitro. Human NP tissue was obtained from surgical specimens and MSCs from bone marrow of 10 subjects. Six-well culture plates and inserts were used for culture; 1.0x10(4) NP cells were seeded onto each insert and incubated alone, in standard coculture with 1.0x10(4) MSCs, or cocultured with direct cell-to-cell contact. NP cell proliferation, DNA synthesis, and proteoglycan (PG) synthesis were evaluated. Chromosome abnormalities in the activated NP cells and tumorigenesis of the cells were evaluated in an additional 10 patients by microscopic examination for segmented cells and histological assessment of activated cells transplanted into nude mice. Cell proliferation, DNA synthesis, and PG synthesis were significantly upregulated. The positive effects of the coculture system with direct cell-to-cell contact seen in animal studies were also confirmed in human cells. Chromosome abnormalities and tumorigenesis were not observed in the activated NP cells. In conclusion, a coculture system with direct cell-to-cell contact demonstrated a significant positive effect, enhancing the biological properties of human NP cells, as it did in animal models. These results should prove useful for conducting trials leading to the clinical use of activated NP cell transplantation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources