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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 May 19.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Stem Cell Res Ther. 2015;10(4):339–352. doi: 10.2174/1574888x10666150312102948

Table 1.

Overview of Intervertebral Disc Organ Culture Systems.

Loading Preparation of
discs		 Model Media
Refreshment		 Culture System Findings Reference
Unloaded systems (free-swelling)
Unloaded, free swelling Embedding of disc in alginate gel Rabbit Static culture Culture well (standard lab plastics) ↑ proteoglycan synthesis and maintained a higher content of extracellular matrix components [55]
No loading, free swelling With CEP, Bovine coccygeal, Human cadaveric IVD Static culture Sterile plastic beaker culture Injection of LINK N and or MSCs [122]
Mechanically loaded systems
Static loading 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1 MPa With CEP Mouse lumbar Static culture Culture bottles (glass) Apoptosis was absent in discs without load, but was particularly
↑ noticeable in loaded discs (load weight, 1.0 MPa).		 [123]
Static loading with ~0.4MPa NEP Bovine coccygeal Pump PEEK reactor, media refreshment with pumping ↑Cell survival without CEP good, keeping CEP and BEP very ↓ cell viability [54]
Papain injection free-swelling and then static loading with ~0.4MPa, injection of pNIPAM material and with MSCs with BEP Bovine coccygeal Static culture Glass/POM chamber MSCs differentiated toward IVD cells, cell viability of MSCs stayed high, hydrogel valume was drastically reduced [78]
Diurnal loading, 0.2MPa for 16h and 0.8Mpa for 8h with BEP Ovine Pump Polycarbonate day 7 loading, diurnal superior over static, ↑ cell viability, ↑ diffusion [36]
Cyclic compression unloaded (UL) or loaded (L) (0.1MPa for 16h/day and 2 intervals for 2h/day at 0.1Hz with 0.3MPa ± 0.1MPa with CEP Bovine, Ovine, Mouse Pump or static Custom-made glass/POM reactor, pressfit design The discs were cultured for 14 days
↑ cell survival with CEP than with BEP		 [33,34,109]
Cyclic compression, static loading, simulated physiological loading, (SPL = ~0.1MPa for 16h/day, high 3× 30min/day blocks of dynamic loading from 0.1-0.6MPa, compared to high dynamic and high static loading. with BEP (including CEP) Bovine coccygeal, Ovine Pump or static Custom-made polycarbonate reactor The ↑ cell viability with CEP than with bony endplate
↑ cell viability if		 [45,98,124]
Cyclic compression, static loading, simulated physiological loading, (SPL = ~0.1MPa for 16h/day high 3× 30min/day blocks of dynamic loading from 0.1-0.6MPa, compared to high dynamic and high static loading. with BEP (including CEP) Caprine Pump Custom-made polycarbonate reactor The ↑ cell viability with CEP than with bony endplate
↑ cell viability if		 [7,31,49-51]
Cyclic compression physiological loading (0.2MPa for 16h/day, 0.6MPa±0.2MPa for 3×2h/day with 2h resting/day, test of low and high frequency, i.e. 0.2 vs 5 Hz With BEP Ovine, Bovine coccygeal Pump or static Custom-made polycarbonate reactor Cell survival depends on loading frequency and nutrition, synergistic effects of nutrition and frequency causes ↓ cell viability [37,38,125]
Complex cyclic torsio -compression loading, i.e. 0.6±0.1MPa for 8h and 16h free-swelling or low load 0.2MPa With BEP Bovine Static Custom-made glass/POM reactor ↓ cell survival with extended complex loading in NP but not in AF (=twisting, combined compression and torsion [32,98]
Cyclic compression 0.1Hz 0.4-0.6 MPa for 8h, recovery at 0.2 Mpa for 16h With BEP Human cadaveric IVD Pump Custom-made chambers, made of Ultem System is capable of monitoring IVD height and mechanics during experiment [29]
Cyclinc compression, 1 Hz, 1 MPa, 2500 cycles per day With hemi-vertebrae Rabbit Static Loading inserts in Falcon tubes, 6-station system mounted in Instron dynamic testing frame Persistent degenerative changes after spinal trauma with dynamic loading [47]
Osmotically adjusted systems
Osmotically adjusted with salt to iso-osmotic media (335 mosmol/kg) or were diurnally exposed for 8 hours to hyper-osmotic conditions (485 mosmol/kg with BEP Rabbit static well-plate design free-swelling or with osmotic pressure ↑ cell viability for osmotically loaded IVDs compared to iso-tonic IVDs [60,126,127]
Osmotically adjusted using PEG and dialysis membrane ((430 mOsm/kg): standard medium 8.2% w/v PEG; Hypertonic to native in situ NP (570 mOsm/kg NP explants Bovine static Culture well , standard lab plastics Cultured for up to 42 days, ↑ cell viability, ↑ GAG/DNA ratio of hypertonic medium. [58,128]
Osmolality adjusted by increasing NaCl to 410 mOsm/kg IVD explants Rat static Culture well, standard lab plastics Biochemical and molecular assays reveal viable and functional nucleus pulposus cells;
TGF-betal, TGF-beta3 elevated the expression of critical matrix genes,
↑ GAG/DNA ratio		 [129,130]