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

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. Overall design: 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.