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The degree of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is qualitatively evaluated on T2‐weighted imaging (T2WI). However, it is difficult to assess subtle changes in IVD degeneration using T2WI. Q‐space imaging (QSI) is a quantitative diffusion‐weighted imaging modality used to detect subtle changes in microenvironments. This study aimed to evaluate whether QSI can detect the inhibitory effects of the antioxidant N‐acetylcysteine (NAC) in IVD degeneration. We classified female Wistar rats into control, puncture, and NAC groups (n = 5 per group). In the puncture and NAC groups, IVDs were punctured using a needle. The antioxidant NAC, which suppresses the progression of IVD degeneration, was orally administered in the NAC group 1 week prior to puncture. The progression and inhibitory effect of NAC in IVD degeneration were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): IVD height, T2 mapping, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and QSI. MRI was performed using a 7‐Tesla system with a conventional probe (20 IVDs in each group). QSI parameters that were assessed included Kurtosis, the probability at zero displacement (ZDP), and full width at half maximum (FWHM). IVD degeneration by puncture was confirmed by histology, IVD height, T2 mapping, ADC, and all QSI parameters (P <.001); however, the inhibitory effect of NAC was confirmed only by QSI parameters (Kurtosis and ZDP: both P <.001; FWHM: P <.01). Kurtosis had the largest effect size (Kurtosis: 1.13, ZDP: 1.06, and FWHM: 1.02) when puncture and NAC groups were compared. QSI has a higher sensitivity than conventional quantitative methods for detecting the progressive change and inhibitory effect of NAC in IVD degeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Intervertebral disc degeneration proceeds with age and is one of the major causes of lumbar pain and degenerative lumbar spine diseases. However, studies in the field of intervertebral disc biology have been hampered by the lack of reliable cell lines that can be used for in vitro assays. In this study, we show that a chordoma-derived cell line U-CH1-N cells highly express the nucleus pulposus (NP) marker genes, including T (encodes T brachyury transcription factor), KRT19, and CD24. These observations were further confirmed by immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry. Reporter analyses showed that transcriptional activity of T was enhanced in U-CH1-N cells. Chondrogenic capacity of U-CH1-N cells was verified by evaluating the expression of extracellular matrix (ECM) genes and Alcian blue staining. Of note, we found that proliferation and synthesis of chondrogenic ECM proteins were largely dependent on T in U-CH1-N cells. In accordance, knockdown of the T transcripts suppressed the expression of PCNA, a gene essential for DNA replication, and SOX5 and SOX6, the master regulators of chondrogenesis. On the other hand, the CD24-silenced cells showed no reduction in the mRNA expression level of the chondrogenic ECM genes. These results suggest that U-CH1-N shares important biological properties with notochordal NP cells and that T plays crucial roles in maintaining the notochordal NP cell-like phenotype in this cell line. Taken together, our data indicate that U-CH1-N may serve as a useful tool in studying the biology of intervertebral disc. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Orthopaedic Research Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society. J Orthop Res 34:1341-1350, 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several biomarkers have been used to evaluate osteoarthritis of the limb joints. Here we evaluated the use of serum cartilage metabolites as biomarkers for degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS). Fifty-two DLS patients with Cobb angle > 10° were compared with 19 control patients. Serum levels of hyaluronic acid (HA), keratan sulfate (KS), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), collagen type II cleavage (C2C), and procollagen type II C-propeptide (CPII) were measured. Serum levels of KS (DLS 1.20 ± 0.44 µg/ml vs. control 0.98 ± 0.33 µg/ml), CPII (DLS 1905.1 ± 948.2 ng/ml vs. control 1223.6 ± 884.4 ng/ml), and C2C (DLS 219.1 ± 59.2 ng/ml vs. control 177.7 ± 71.7 ng/ml) were significantly higher in DLS. There were no significant differences in the levels of HA or COMP. There was a significant positive correlation between the Cobb angle and CPII in DLS. This is the first study to evaluate the cartilage biomarkers in DLS. The results suggest DLS patients have higher levels of type II collagen synthesis and degradation, indicated by elevated serum CPII and C2C, respectively. As type II collagen is a major component of collagens in the nucleus pulposus and facet joint cartilages, its enhanced turnover may be related to the development and progression of DLS. © 2012 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 30:1249-1253, 2012 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]