3D Characterization of Morphological Changes in the Intervertebral Disc and Endplate During Aging: A Propagation Phase Contrast Synchrotron Micro-tomography Study

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2017 Mar 8

PMID 28266560

Citations 10

Authors

Yong Cao

Shenghui Liao

Hao Zeng

Shuangfei Ni

Francis Tintani

Yongqiang Hao

Lei Wang

Tianding Wu

Hongbin Lu

Chunyue Duan

Jianzhong Hu

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

A better understanding of functional changes in the intervertebral disc (IVD) and interaction with endplate is essential to elucidate the pathogenesis of IVD degeneration disease (IDDD). To date, the simultaneous depiction of 3D micro-architectural changes of endplate with aging and interaction with IVD remains a technical challenge. We aim to characterize the 3D morphology changes of endplate and IVD during aging using PPCST. The lumbar vertebral level 4/5 IVDs harvested from 15-day-, 4- and 24-month-old mice were initially evaluated by PPCST with histological sections subsequently analyzed to confirm the imaging efficiency. Quantitative assessments of age-related trends after aging, including mean diameter, volume fraction and connectivity of the canals, and endplate porosity and thickness, reached a peak at 4 months and significantly decreased at 24 months. The IVD volume consistently exhibited same trend of variation with the endplate after aging. In this study, PPCST simultaneously provided comprehensive details of 3D morphological changes of the IVD and canal network in the endplate and the interaction after aging. The results suggest that PPCST has the potential to provide a new platform for attaining a deeper insight into the pathogenesis of IDDD, providing potential therapeutic targets.

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