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This study aimed to appraise two quantitative magnetic resonance imaging techniques, T2* imaging and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), for the diagnosis of the intervertebral disc degeneration of the cervico-thoracic junction. Influence of specific factors and diagnostic accuracy of both techniques were particularly explored. Sixty-one volunteers with neck and upper back pain were recruited and evaluated with both T2* imaging and DWI. The Pfirrmann grade, T2* relaxation time and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value of each disc between C7 and T3 were recorded. Stratified analyses were performed for different anatomic levels, genders, age ranges and Pfirrmann grades. The diagnostic accuracy of both techniques was investigated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. No statistically significant difference of either T2* relaxation time or ADC value was detected between males and females. Both parameters decreased with the increasing age and Pfirrmann grade. The ROC curves showed the higher sensitivity and specificity for T2* imaging than DWI to quantitatively identify the disc degeneration. Particularly, T2* imaging allowed for a quantitative distinguishing the normal, mild and moderate disc degeneration from the severe degeneration, which was unable to accomplish with DWI. In conclusion, we demonstrated that T2* imaging possess a better accuracy than DWI to quantitatively diagnose the intervertebral disc degeneration at the cervico-thoracic junction.
Background. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) at the cervicothoracic junction of spine is clinically relevant, however, little attention had been paid. T2 mapping and magnetic transfer ratio (MTR) are useful magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to quantitatively evaluate IDD, revealing the biochemical changes within the intervertebral disc. To compare T2 mapping with MTR imaging regarding their accuracy to quantitatively diagnose intervertebral disc degeneration at the cervicothoracic junction, influences of anatomical level, gender, age, and Pfrrmann grade of T2 relaxation time values and MTR values were evaluated.
Methods. Sixty-seven patients with neck and upper back pain were included and examined with both T2 mapping andMTR imaging. Te Pfrrmann grade, T2 relaxation time values, and MTR value of each disc between C7 and T3 were measured. Diferences were investigated among diferent segmental levels, genders, age ranges, and Pfrrmann grades. Te diagnostic accuracy of both MRI techniques was compared using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
Results. No signifcant diference was detected comparing T2 relaxation time values or MTR values among diferent anatomical levels, genders, and segmental levels. And we generally found that T2 relaxation time values decreased, while MTR value increased with increasing age. Importantly, we demonstrated the signifcant correlation between either T2 relaxation time values or MTR value and Pfrrmann grade.
Conclusion. We proved the better accuracy of T2 mapping over MTR imaging to quantitatively evaluate the intervertebral disc degeneration of the cervicothoracic junction.
Background: Stem cell therapy is considered as a promising alternative to treat intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Extensive work had been done on identifying and comparing different types of candidate stem cells, both in vivo and in vitro. However, few studies have shed light on degenerative nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs), especially their biological behavior under the influence of exogenous stem cells, specifically the gene expression and regulation pattern. In the present study, we aimed to determine messenger RNAs (mRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), which are differentially expressed during the co-culturing process with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ASCs) and to explore the involved signaling pathways and the regulatory networks.
Methods: We compared degenerative NPCs co-cultured with ASCs with those cultured solely using lncRNA-mRNA microarray analysis. Based on these data, we investigated the significantly regulated signaling pathways based on the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway database. Moreover, 23 micro RNAs (miRNAs), which were demonstrated to be involved in IDD were chosen; we investigated their theoretic regulatory importance associated with our microarray data.
Results: We found 632 lncRNAs and 1682 mRNAs were differentially expressed out of a total of 40,716 probes. We then confirmed the microarray data by real-time PCR. Furthermore, we demonstrated 197 upregulated, and 373 downregulated Gene Ontology terms and 176 significantly enriched pathways, such as the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. Also, a signal-net was constructed to reveal the interplay among differentially expressed genes. Meanwhile, a mRNA-lncRNA co-expression network was constructed for the significantly changed mRNAs and lncRNAs. Also, the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) network was built.
Conclusion: Our results present the first comprehensive identification of differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs of degenerative NPCs, altered by co-culturing with ASCs, and outline the gene expression regulation pattern. These may provide valuable information for better understanding of stem cell therapy and potential candidate biomarkers for IDD treatment.