{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,22]],"date-time":"2026-07-22T04:38:35Z","timestamp":1784695115298,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]],"date-time":"2025-08-08T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1754611200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NIH NIAMS","award":["R01AR078888"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01AR078888"]}]},{"name":"NIH NIAMS","award":["R21AR072334"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R21AR072334"]}]},{"name":"NIH NIAMS","award":["R21AR078547"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R21AR078547"]}]},{"name":"NIH NIAMS","award":["R01AR085553"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01AR085553"]}]},{"name":"North American Spine Society","award":["R01AR078888"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01AR078888"]}]},{"name":"North American Spine Society","award":["R21AR072334"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R21AR072334"]}]},{"name":"North American Spine Society","award":["R21AR078547"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R21AR078547"]}]},{"name":"North American Spine Society","award":["R01AR085553"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R01AR085553"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Intervertebral disc degeneration is a leading cause of back and leg pain and a major contributor to disability worldwide. Despite its prevalence, treatments remain limited due to incomplete understanding of its pathology. In vivo models pose challenges for controlled conditions, while in vitro cell cultures lack key cell\u2013cell and cell\u2013matrix interactions. To address these limitations, we developed a novel tissue slice culture model of mouse discs, in which intact mouse discs were sliced down to 300 \u03bcm thickness with a vibratome and cultured ex vivo at various time points. The cell viability, matrix components, structure integrity, inflammatory responses, and macrophage interactions were evaluated with biochemistry, gene expression, histology, and 3D imaging analyses. Disc slices maintained structural integrity and cell viability, with preserved extracellular matrix in the annulus fibrosus (AF) and mild degeneration in nucleus pulposus (NP) by day 5. Interleukin-1 (IL-1) induced disc degeneration manifested by increased glycosaminoglycan release in media and reduced aggrecan and collagen II mRNA levels in disc cells. Cultured disc slices promoted macrophages towards pro-inflammatory phenotype with elevated mRNA levels of il-1\u03b1, il-6, and inos. Macrophage overlay and 3D imaging demonstrated macrophage infiltration into the NP and AF tissues up to ~100 \u00b5m in depth. The disc tissue slice model captures key features of intervertebral discs and can be used for investigating mechanisms of disc degeneration and therapeutic evaluation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells14161230","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]],"date-time":"2025-08-08T15:30:52Z","timestamp":1754667052000},"page":"1230","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["An Ex Vivo Intervertebral Disc Slice Culture Model for Studying Disc Degeneration and Immune Cell Interactions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Eunha G.","family":"Oh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Xiao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-5301-9468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Zhiwen","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yuan","family":"Xing","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"},{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Spinal Deformity Center, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha 410011, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Parastoo","family":"Anbaei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jialun A.","family":"Chi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Li","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8644-9313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rebecca R.","family":"Pompano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xudong","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,8,8]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"421","DOI":"10.5455\/medarh.2019.73.421-424","article-title":"A brief review of the degenerative intervertebral disc disease","volume":"73","author":"Kos","year":"2019","journal-title":"Med. 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