In Vivo Implantation of Five Different Compositions of Tissue-Engineered Intervertebral Disks in a Rat Tail Model: Preliminary Results

IntroductionDegenerative disk disease is a leading cause of disability in the developed countries and over the past few decades, has become a major public health problem worldwide due to the significant improvement of life expectancy. Current medical and surgical treatment strategies for DDD mainly focus on pain and symptom relief, and do not necessarily address the underlying pathology of the disease. In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in developing biological based implants as an alternative, which could restore function and mobility of the spine. Here, we present the preliminary results of our study, in which five different compositions of tissue-engineered intervertebral disks were implanted into the rat caudal spine, and radiographic studies were used to evaluate the results.Materials and MethodsBased on MRI and micro-computed tomography imaging of the rat spine, compound tissue-engineered total disk replacement implants (TE-TDR) were designed to a high degree of geometric accurac...