Intervertebral disc regeneration: biomaterials and multimodal mechano-regulation

A major cause of neck and low back pains, degenerative disc disease (DDD) has become a prevailing health problem worldwide and significantly contributes to healthcare expenditures. Current conservative or surgical treatments for DDD can hardly reverse the biological function of degenerated intervertebral disc (IVD) and in some cases, may even lead to degenerative changes in adjacent vertebrae. In the last two decades, there has been a surge of interest in fabricating IVD replacements using tissue engineering strategies for DDD therapy. However, major challenge remains toward fabricating annulus fibrosus (AF) replacements that are biologically and functionally comparable to native tissue, largely due to the tremendous complexity of AF tissue at cellular, biochemical, microstructural, and biomechanical aspects. In recent years, we have employed a combination of tissue engineering strategies including layer-by-layer assembly, multimodal mechano-regulation, controlled drug delivery, and 3D printing in order to address the heterogeneity feature of AF tissue toward effective IVD regeneration. Findings from these studies may provide new insights toward developing engineered IVDs whose biological features and mechanical functions approximate those of native tissue.

Prof. Bin Li is currently the Executive Dean of Suzhou Medical College, Deputy Director of Orthopedic Institute, Director of Medical 3D Printing Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, and Co-Director of Interdisciplinary Innovation Center for Nanomedicine at Soochow University. He received the bachelor degree in 1996 and PhD degree in 2001 from Tsinghua University. He then worked at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore from 2001 to 2004. After that he pursued postdoctoral training at University of Pittsburgh in USA from 2005 to 2009. He joined Soochow University in 2009. He is the recipient of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and has been elected as Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research (FIOR), International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (ICORS), and Fellow of International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE) and Chinese Society for Biomaterials (CSBM). He is the Membership Committee Chair of the International Chinese Musculoskeletal Research Society (ICMRS), Chair-elect of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Chapter of Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering, and Vice Chair of the Intelligent Biomimetic Biomaterials Chapter of Chinese Society of Biomaterials. He is the Associate Editor of Journal of Orthopaedic Translation, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, and Biomaterials Translational. He has delivered more than 240 invited talks and published over 210 articles and 14 book chapters. His research interests include orthopaedic biomaterials, stem cells and tissue engineering, cellular biomechanics and mechanobiology.Prof. Bin Li is currently the Executive Dean of Suzhou Medical College, Deputy Director of Orthopedic Institute, Director of Medical 3D Printing Center of the First Affiliated Hospital, and Co-Director of Interdisciplinary Innovation Center for Nanomedicine at Soochow University. He received the bachelor degree in 1996 and PhD degree in 2001 from Tsinghua University. He then worked at the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore from 2001 to 2004. After that he pursued postdoctoral training at University of Pittsburgh in USA from 2005 to 2009. He joined Soochow University in 2009. He is the recipient of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars, and has been elected as Fellow of International Orthopaedic Research (FIOR), International Combined Orthopaedic Research Societies (ICORS), and Fellow of International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering (IUSBSE) and Chinese Society for Biomaterials (CSBM). He is the Membership Committee Chair of the International Chinese Musculoskeletal Research Society (ICMRS), Chair-elect of the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Chapter of Chinese Society of Biomedical Engineering, and Vice Chair of the Intelligent Biomimetic Biomaterials Chapter of Chinese Society of Biomaterials. He is the Associate Editor of Journal of Orthopaedic Translation, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, and Biomaterials Translational. He has delivered more than 240 invited talks and published over 210 articles and 14 book chapters. His research interests include orthopaedic biomaterials, stem cells and tissue engineering, cellular biomechanics and mechanobiology.