Human annulus disc cells grown in a 3D collagen sponge and exposed to TNF-a

The objective of this study was to determine how TNF-a, an important proinflammatory cytokine, affects gene expression in the human annulus. Cells were grown in a 3D collagen construct for 14 days with TNF-a. mRNA was isolated and subjected to microarray. Fold changes in gene expression were determined via GeneSifer software. Human disc tissue samples were obtained from surgical disc procedures performed on patients with herniated discs and degenerative disc disease. Cultured annulus cells were grown in a 3D collagen construct with or without 10e3 pM TNF-a for a total of 14 days. Following homogenization in TRIzol reagent, total RNA was isolated and analyzed via mircoarray.