Biological Repair of the Intervertebral disc: Not yet ready for weight bearing

摘要

Tissue engineering an intervertebral disc replacement is challenging given the presence of multiple different tissue types and the complexity of the tissue organization. Furthermore, its integration with bone which necessitates creating a hard tissue - soft tissue interface is another issue that must be addressed. Our attempts to create a biological disc replacement has provided insight as to the biology of the disc and some of the requirements that may be critical to successful generation of an IVD.