Abstract: Objective To investigate the effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the synthesis of extracellular matrixc (ECM)and expression of chondromodulin in human intervertebral disc cells. Methods 4 intervertebral discs (IVDs) obtained from patients in thetreatment of disc degenerative disease were used for cell culture. The secondary generation of intervertebral disc cells were cultured for 7days, then different concentration of bFGF (0, 0.1 ng/ml, 1 ng/ml, 10 ng/ml)were added to the medium and treated for 72 hours. Real-timeRT-PCR was used to detect the change of Aggrecan and type Ⅱ collagen mRNA expression. The effect of FGF on the expression of ChM-1,a cartilage derived anti-angiogenic factor, was also used by means of Real-time RT-PCR and Western blot. Results Real-time RT-PCRshowed that bFGF can significantly inhibit the expression of Aggrecan and type Ⅱ collagen mRNA. Both Real-time RT-PCR and Westernblot showed that the expression of ChM-1 was down-regulated by administration of bFGF with dose-dependent way. Conclusion bFGFserves primarily as a catabolic factor and induce the angiogenesis in the process of intervertebral disc degeneration.

Key words: intervertebral disc, basic fibroblast growth factor, chondromodulin, degeneration, human