Molecular interactions between human cartilaginous endplates and nucleus pulposus cells: a preliminary investigation.

Study Design. Conditioned media (CM) of cartilaginous endplates (CEPs) of intervertebral discs were analyzed in a bioassay with regard to their influence on matrix turnover and inflammatory factors on nucleus pulposus (NP) cells of the same patient. CEP tissue underwent further histological and ultrastructural analysis. Objective. To identify possible interactions between the CEP and the disc via molecular factors that may influence disc matrix degradation and to determine degenerative changes of CEP tissue. Summary of Background Data. Impaired endplate perme-ability due to degeneration and calcification is considered to be a key contributor to disc degeneration. An upregulation of metallop…