STUDY DESIGN: Preliminary experimental study using a rabbit spondylitis model. PURPOSE: To observe the ossification in a micro-environment containing live Mycobacterium tuberculosis transplanted with bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) in rabbits. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: BMSCs differentiate to osteoblasts and then osteocytes during ossification. Mycobacterium tuberculosis does not affect BMSC growth in vitro. METHODS: Six rabbits were divided into two groups of three rabbits. One group was positive for spondylitis tuberculosis by culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and histopathologically. The other group was positive by PCR and histopathologically. Both groups were treated using BMSC transplantation and anti-tuberculosis drugs. After 6 weeks, ossification was evaluated by enumerating the number of osteoblasts, osteocytes, and lesion level of calcium. RESULTS: Mean number of osteoblasts was 207.00+/-31.00 in the first group and 220.33+/-73.46 in the second group. Mean number of intra-lesions osteocytes was in the first and second group was 18.33+/-30.04 and 31.00+/-26.87, respectively. Mean calcium level in the first group and second group was 2.94%+/-0.89% and 2.51%+/-0.13%, respectively. Total ossification score in the first and second group was 31.00 and 25.67, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Mycobacterium tuberculosis provides support for new bone formation by stimulating intra-lesion calcium metabolism. The microscopic environment containing live Mycobacterium tuberculosis enhances ossification.
Bone Marrow* ; Calcium ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Metabolism ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Osteoblasts ; Osteocytes ; Osteogenesis* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rabbits ; Spondylitis ; Tuberculosis

Low back pain (LBP) is a major health issue resulting in a huge economic burden on the community. It not only increases the medical costs directly, but also raises the disability and loss of productivity in the general population. Symptoms include local pain over the spinal area, pain radiating to the lower leg, stiffness, and muscle tension. LBP is strongly linked with intervertebral disc degeneration that is further associated with the disruption of the complex anatomy of nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, and adjacent supporting structures of the spine. Change in the shape and intensity of nucleus pulposus, decreased disc height, disc herniation, vertebral endplate changes, presence of osteophyte, and posterior high intensity zones are degenerative changes found in imaging studies. Every feature is considered while grading the severity score. Modic changes, DEBIT (disc extension beyond interspace) score, and Pfirrmann criteria are some of the scoring criteria used for evaluating disc degeneration severity. Moreover, the total number and contiguous pattern of affected discs play a crucial role in symptom generation of back pain. Many studies have reported asymptomatic patients. Thus, the correlation between degeneration severity found in imaging study and symptom severity of LBP remain unclear. This review discusses and summarizes the available literature on the significance of the association between the severity of degenerative changes found in imaging study with the presence and intensity of LBP.