Figure - PMC

Skip to main content

An official website of the United States government

Here's how you know

Here's how you know

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you've safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

View full-text article in PMC

. 2020 Jul 10;21(14):4889. doi: 10.3390/ijms21144889

Search in PMC
Search in PubMed
View in NLM Catalog
Add to search

© 2020 by the authors.

Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

PMC Copyright notice

Cell-based regenerative strategy seems the most reliable method for annulus fibrosus (AF) regeneration in mildly degeneratedintervertebral discs (IVDs). Two mechanisms are believed to regenerate the AF effectively. The first mechanism (I) is a direct pathway, where the proliferated (or un-proliferated) stem cells contribute to producing extracellular matrix and collagen. The second mechanism (II) involves the injection of the stem cells to encourage resident components (mainly cells) to produce extracellular matrix, indirectly.