Velnar T, Gradisnik L. Endplate role in the degenerative disc disease: A brief review. World J Clin Cases 2023; 11(1): 17-29 [PMID: 36687189 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i1.17]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Tomaz Velnar, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Zaloska 7, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. tvelnar@hotmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Neurosciences
Article-Type of This Article
Review
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Jan 6, 2023; 11(1): 17-29 Published online Jan 6, 2023. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i1.17
Endplate role in the degenerative disc disease: A brief review
Tomaz Velnar, Lidija Gradisnik
Tomaz Velnar, Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia
Tomaz Velnar, Lidija Gradisnik, Alma Mater Europaea Maribor, Maribor 2000, Slovenia
Lidija Gradisnik, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maribor, University of Maribor, Maribor 2000, Slovenia
Author contributions: Velnar T and Gradisnik L drafted the manuscript, participated in the design of the study and were involved with data collection, Velnar T participated in design and oversight of the study; all authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Tomaz Velnar, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Zaloska 7, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia. tvelnar@hotmail.com
Received: July 3, 2022 Peer-review started: July 3, 2022 First decision: August 22, 2022 Revised: October 19, 2022 Accepted: December 16, 2022 Article in press: December 16, 2022 Published online: January 6, 2023
Abstract
The degenerative disease of the intervertebral disc is nowadays an important health problem, which has still not been understood and solved adequately. The vertebral endplate is regarded as one of the vital elements in the structure of the intervertebral disc. Its constituent cells, the chondrocytes in the endplate, may also be involved in the process of the intervertebral disc degeneration and their role is central both under physiological and pathological conditions. They main functions include a role in homeostasis of the extracellular environment of the intervertebral disc, metabolic support and nutrition of the discal nucleus and annulus beneath and the preservation of the extracellular matrix. Therefore, it is understandable that the cells in the endplate have been in the centre of research from several viewpoints, such as development, degeneration and growth, reparation and remodelling, as well as treatment strategies. In this article, we briefly review the importance of vertebral endplate, which are often overlooked, in the intervertebral disc degeneration.
Core Tip: The degenerative disease of the intervertebral disc represents an important health problem worldwide. The endplate chondrocytes are one of the crucial cells involved in the first steps of the disc degeneration process. It is therefore not surprising that the endplate cells have been of significant interest from multiple perspectives, including growth, development, degeneration, remodelling, repair and treatment strategies. The importance of vertebral endplate in the intervertebral disc degeneration is discussed.
