Decoding the annulus fibrosus cell atlas by scRNA-seq to develop an inducible composite hydrogel: A novel strategy for disc reconstruction

Bioactive Materials

Di Wang¹  Lu Gan²  Zhuojing Luo²  Junjie Du²  Beier Luo³  Haoruo Jia³  Jianxin Mao³  Pandi Peng³  Ye Peng³  Qiliang Shang³  Liu Yang³  Chu Gao³  Han Wang³  Dong Wang⁴ 

[1] Department of Orthopedics, Air Force Medical Center, 100142, Beijing, China;Department of Orthopedics, Air Force Medical Center, 100142, Beijing, China;Department of Orthopedics, Xijing Hospital, Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, 710032, China;Department of Spinal Surgery, Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, China;

关键词: Single cell RNA-Seq;    Annulus fibrosus-derived stem cells;    Lineage tracing;    Composite hydrogel;    Annulus fibrosus reconstruction;   

DOI  :  

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Low back pain is one of the most serious public health problems worldwide and the major clinical manifestation of intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). The key pathological change during IVDD is dysfunction of the annulus fibrosus (AF). However, due to the lack of an in-depth understanding of AF biology, the methods to reconstruct the AF are very limited. In this study, the mice AF cell atlas were decoded by single-cell RNA sequencing to provide a guide for AF reconstruction. The results first identify a new population of AF cells, fibrochondrocyte-like AF cells, which synthesize both collagen I and collagen II and are potential functional cells for AF reconstruction. According to the dual features of the AF extracellular matrix, a composite hydrogel based on the acylation of methacrylated silk fibroin with methacrylated hyaluronic acid was produced. To obtain the ability to stimulate differentiation, the composite hydrogels were combined with a fibrochondrocyte-inducing supplement. Finally, reconstruction of the AF defects, by the novel AF stem cell-loaded composite hydrogel, could be observed, its amount of chondroid matrices recovered to 31.7% of AF aera which is significantly higher than that in other control groups. In summary, this study decodes the AF cell atlas, based on which a novel strategy for AF reconstruction is proposed.

【 授权许可】

Unknown