Effects of Compression on Glucose Consumption in Intervertebral Disc

Nutrition supply is a concern for the health of avascular cartilaginous tissues such as intervertebral disc (IVD). Maintaining tissue integrity relies on cellular biosynthesis of extracellular matrix, which is an energy demanding process [1]. In the IVD, energy is mainly generated through glycolysis (i.e., glucose consumption). Metabolism of nutrients (e.g., oxygen and glucose) within the IVD depends on local concentrations of nutrients, and coupling effects between nutrient level and metabolic rate [2,3]. Our previous theoretical study had developed a new theoretical formulation by incorporating the metabolic rates of solutes into the mechano-electrochemical mixture theory [4,5]. By using this new theoretical model, the distribution of oxygen and lactate can be predicted within the IVD under static and dynamics compressions [4]. However, the effect of compression on glucose consumption in the IVD has not been studied. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of compression on glucose consumption in the IVD under static and dynamic unconfined compression numerically.