REAGENT or RESOURCE	SOURCE	IDENTIFIER
Antibodies
APC anti-human CD34 Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#343510; RRID:AB_1877153
PE anti-human CD45 Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#368510; RRID:AB_2566370
FITC anti-human CD73 (Ecto-5′-nucleotidase) Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#344016; RRID:AB_2561809
FITC anti-human CD90 (Thy1) Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#328108; RRID:AB_893429
PE anti-human CD105 Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#323206; RRID:AB_755958
APC anti-human HLA-DR Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#307610; RRID:AB_314688
FITC Human IgG1 Isotype Control Recombinant Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#403508; RRID:AB_2847831
APC Human IgG1 Isotype Control Recombinant Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#403506
PE Human IgG1 Isotype Control Recombinant Antibody	BioLegend	Cat#403504
Anti-Integrin alpha 1 antibody	Abcam	Cat#ab200570
Recombinant Anti-BMP2 antibody [EPR20807]	Abcam	Cat#ab214821; RRID:AB_2814695
Anti-Smad1 antibody[EPR5522]	Abcam	Cat#ab126761; RRID:AB_11143606
Anti-RUNX2 antibody	Abcam	Cat#ab23981; RRID:AB_777785
Anti-Collagen II antibody	Abcam	Cat#ab34712; RRID:AB_731688
Anti-Aggrecan antibody[6-B-4]	Abcam	Cat#ab3778; RRID:AB_304071
Anti-GAPDH antibody[6C5] - Loading Control	Abcam	Cat#ab8245; RRID:AB_2107448
Goat Anti-Rabbit IgG H&L (HRP) antibody	Abcam	Cat#ab205718; RRID:AB_2819160
Goat Anti-Mouse IgG H&L (HRP) antibody	Abcam	Cat#ab205719; RRID:AB_2755049
Chemicals, peptides, and recombinant proteins
Chitosan	Sigma-Aldrich	Cat#1105508
Sodium tripolyphosphate	Sigma-Aldrich	Cat#238503
Genipin	Sigma-Aldrich	Cat#G4796
TWEEN ® 80	Aladdin	Cat#T118633
Span™ 80	aladdin	Cat#S110840
Petroleum ether	aladdin	Cat#P119716
Paraffin liquid	aladdin	Cat#P104805
Human BMP-2 Recombinant Protein	Gibco	Cat#PHC7141
DAPI solution	Thermo Scientific	Cat#62248
Fibrinogen from human plasma	Sigma-Aldrich	Cat#F3879
Thrombin from human plasma	Sigma-Aldrich	Cat#T7009
BMP-2 siRNA (h)	Santa Cruz	Cat#sc-39738
Integrin α1/ITGA1/CD49a siRNA (h)	Santa Cruz	Cat#sc-43125
Critical commercial assays
TRIzol Reagent	Invitrogen	Cat#15596018
RevertAid First Strand cDNA Synthesis Kit	Thermo Scientific	Cat#K1622
SYBR™ Green PCR Master Mix	Applied Biosystems	Cat#4309155
BMP-2 Human ELISA Kit	Invitrogen	Cat#EHBMP2
Cell Counting Kit-8	Dojindo Molecular Technologies	Cat#CK04
SuperSignal™ West Femto Maximum Sensitivity Substrate	Thermo Scientific	Cat#34095
Pierce BCA Protein Assay Kit	Thermo Scientific	Cat#23225
RIPA Lysis and Extraction Buffer	Thermo Scientific	Cat#89901
PMSF Protease Inhibitor	Thermo Scientific	Cat#36978
Experimental models: Cell lines
Primary cultures of nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells(NPMSCs)	This study	N/A
ex vivo nucleus pulposus explants cultures	This study	N/A
Oligonucleotides
ACAN forward GATCCTTACCGTAAAGCCCATC	This study	N/A
ACAN reverse CTCCAGTCTCATTCTCAACCTC	This study	N/A
COL 2A1 forward CAAGAACAGCATTGCCTATCTG	This study	N/A
COL 2A1 reverse GATAACAGTCTTGCCCCACTTA	This study	N/A
Human GAPDH Endogenous Reference Genes Primers, 10 μM	Sangon Biotech	Cat#B661104-0001
Software and Algorithms
FlowJo_v10.6.2	FlowJo	https://www.flowjo.com/
Prism 9	GraphPad	https://www.graphpad-prism.cn
ImageJ_v1.8.0	ImageJ	https://imagej.nih.gov/
Other
DMEM-12 (Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium/Nutrient Mixture F-12)	Gibco	Cat#11320033
Fetal Bovine Serum	Gibco	Cat#12664025
Goat Serum, New Zealand Source	Gibco	Cat#16210064
Mesenchymal Stem Cell Chondrogenic Differentiation Medium	ScienCell	Cat#7551
Penicillin-Streptomycin solution	Gibco	Cat#15140122
0.25% Trypsin-EDTA	Gibco	Cat#25200072
Type II Collagenase	Gibco	Cat#17101015