# An ex vivo system to model the inflammatory microenvironment of human disc herniation

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA · 2021 · $388,230

## Abstract

Project Summary
 Back pain is the most common contributor of disability worldwide, with intervertebral disc herniation being
a leading cause. Despite the clinical significance of intervertebral disc herniation and back pain, no efficacious
treatment is currently available. Thanks to the tremendous efforts in disc research, inflammation is recognized
as a key player for back and leg pain after disc herniation. However, the dynamic interplay between herniated
discs and immune cells is poorly understood due to limited research tools available to unravel such complexity.
To address these knowledge and technology gaps, we will leverage our expertise in live tissue culture and live
tissue staining and imaging technologies to develop a novel tissue slice culture model of human inflamed disc
tissue (herniated discs with inflammatory tissues). The goal of this project is to recapture the pathological
environment of the herniated disc and ultimately discover and validate new biomarkers. In this Exploratory
Bioengineering Research project, we will establish the first slice culture system for human inflamed disc tissue
that responds to inflammatory stimuli and anti-inflammatory therapies (Aim 1) and recapitulates the complex in
vivo inflammatory microenvironment in long-term 3-week culture (Aim 2). If successful, this project will provide a
novel ex vivo model to elucidate the complex pathology between the herniated disc and inflammatory cascade.
When completed, this versatile culture and analysis system will be readily applied to advance the mechanistic
understanding of the disc disease and a range of other musculoskeletal disorders, including osteoarthritis and
tendonitis.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10302594
- **Project number:** 1R21AR078547-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
- **Principal Investigator:** XUDONG J. LI
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $388,230
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-24 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10302594

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10302594, An ex vivo system to model the inflammatory microenvironment of human disc herniation (1R21AR078547-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10302594. Licensed CC0.

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