Peptide:glycosaminoglycan hybrid hydrogels as an injectable intervention for spinal disc degeneration.

ABSTRACT: Degeneration of the spinal discs is a major cause of back pain. During the degeneration process, there is a loss of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) from the proteoglycan-rich gel in the disc's nucleus, which adversely alters biomechanical performance. Current surgical treatments for back pain are highly invasive and have low success rates; there is an urgent need for minimally-invasive approaches that restore the physiological mechanics of the spine. Here we present an injectable peptide:GAG hydrogel that rapidly self-assembles in situ and restores the mechanics of denucleated intervertebral discs. It forms a gel with comparable mechanical properties to the native tissue within seconds to minutes depending on the peptide chosen. Unlike other biomaterials that have been proposed for this p

SUBMITTER: Miles DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4920072 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature