Developing a photochemically cross-linked collagen plug to solve the cell leakage problem for intradiscal injection of mesenchymal stem cells (Mscs): a pilot study

INTRODUCTION: Stem cells possess great potential in treating disk degeneration. MSC is the most clinically relevant cell source but its functional outcomes are still far from satisfaction. One of the primary reasons for the suboptimal performance of MSCs is that the majority of injected cells leaked out from the injection path. Existing attempts addressing this issue focus on further increasing the viscosity of carrier and use of BioGlue. Nevertheless, from others and our own experiences, the high intradiscal pressure in the IVD would extrude the injected cells out immediately even with solid carriers while the blocking effect of glues is only transient as large osteophyte structure was still seen in 6 mon...link_to_OA_fulltex