Dr Stephen M. A. Richardson

Laboratory and Regenerative Medicine (LARM)

Rm 1.438, Stopford Building

Faculty of Life Sciences

University of Manchester

Oxford Road

MANCHESTER  M13 9PT

Tel:     +44 (0) 161 275 5290

email:  s.richardson@manchester.ac.uk

Work in our group is focussed on elucidating the pathways involved in the degeneration of the intervertebral disc (IVD) and developing novel approaches to regenerate it.

The IVD is comprised of a central, gelatinous (hydrogel-like) nucleus pulposus (NP), surrounded by a more fibrous annulus fibrosus (AF). It is the NP of the tissue that shows the majority of changes during degeneration and my work is focussed on regenerating the NP tissue using a tissue engineering approach. 

The cells of the NP are chondrocyte-like and the tissue is rich in proteoglycans, in particular aggrecan, and type II collagen. Due to a lack of availability of NP cells, alternative cell sources, including mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), that have the ability to differentiate along a number of cell lineages, including the chondrocytic lineage are being used. Using a number of approaches, including modification of culture conditions, addition of exogenous factors and external stimuli, it is hoped to produce a large number of easily accessible cells with a differentiated NP-like phenotype that can be used in tissue engineering applications. In combination with this, I am investigating the use of biodegradable polymer scaffolds, in particular poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA), that can be seeded with cells and implanted into the disc to restore disc height and function while the embedded cells produce a new matrix.