ArticleScience translational medicine2023
Intervertebral disc human nucleus pulposus cells associated with back pain trigger neurite outgrowth in vitro and pain behaviors in rats.
Article in Science translational medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- MnOMaterials today. Bio · 2026Article
- Article
- Surviving the Nucleus Pulposus Desert: Next-Generation Strategies for Intervertebral Disc Cell Therapy.JOR spine · 2026Article
- Article
- Organ-on-a-Chip Technology: Advances in Modeling Inflammation, Neurovascularization and Nociception in Human Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Smart medicine · 2026Review
- Antioxidant Proline Carbon Dot-Composited Poly(L-methionine) Hydrogel Restores Mitophagy to Alleviate Cellular Senescence in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.) · 2026Article
- Piezo2 Mediates a Vicious Cycle of "Mechanical Homeostasis Imbalance-Inflammation" in Sensory Nerves and the Cartilage Endplate.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Disruption of YAP biomolecular condensates by mechanical stress drives intervertebral disc vascularization.Science advances · 2026Article
- An intelligent nanoliposome alleviates disc degeneration and discogenic pain by inhibiting neurovascular ingrowth via a "Soil-conditioning, seed-modulating, and weeds-suppressing" strategy.Bioactive materials · 2026Article
- Plasma Proteomic Profiling Identifies a Six-Protein Panel for Grading and Predicting Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Journal of proteome research · 2026Article
- Article
- Integrin inhibition facilitates fibrocartilaginous transformation in connective tissue in osteoarthritis.Science advances · 2026Article
- Antioxidant Carbon Dot of Selenomethionine Alleviates Oxidative Stress in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- An Ex Vivo Model of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration for Assessing Retention of Injectable Cell-Based Grafts.JOR spine · 2025Article
- What a pain in the back: etiology, diagnosis and future treatment directions for discogenic low back pain.Bone research · 2025Review
- Targeted Inhibition of cGAS/STING signaling induced by aberrant R-Loops in the nucleus pulposus to alleviate cellular senescence and intervertebral disc degeneration.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2025Article
- TNFR1-mediated senescence and lack of TNFR2-signaling limit human intervertebral disc cell repair potential in degenerative conditions.Osteoarthritis and cartilage · 2025Article
- Current cutting-edge omics techniques on musculoskeletal tissues and diseases.Bone research · 2025Review
- STMN1-IGFBP5 axis induces senescence and extracellular matrix degradation in nucleus pulposus cells: In vivo and in vitro insights.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2025Article
- Exploring the molecular mechanisms underlying intervertebral disc degeneration by analysing multiple datasets.Scientific reports · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
24 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Low back pain (LBP) is often associated with the degeneration of human intervertebral discs (IVDs). However, the pain-inducing mechanism in degenerating discs remains to be elucidated. Here, we identified a subtype of locally residing human nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), generated by certain conditions in degenerating discs, that was associated with the onset of discogenic back pain. Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of human tissues showed a strong correlation between a specific cell subtype and the pain condition associated with the human degenerated disc, suggesting that they are pain-triggering. The application of IVD degeneration-associated exogenous stimuli to healthy NPCs in vitro recreated a pain-associated phenotype. These stimulated NPCs activated functional human iPSC-derived sensory neuron responses in an in vitro organ-chip model. Injection of stimulated NPCs into the healthy rat IVD induced local inflammatory responses and increased cold sensitivity and mechanical hypersensitivity. Our findings reveal a previously uncharacterized pain-inducing mechanism mediated by NPCs in degenerating IVDs. These findings could aid in the development of NPC-targeted therapeutic strategies for the clinically unmet need to attenuate discogenic LBP.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.