Human intervertebral discs harbour a unique microbiome and dysbiosis determines health and disease.
Dr Shanmuganathan RajasekaranDilip Chand Raja SoundararajanChitraa TangavelRaveendran MuthurajanK S Sri Vijay AnandMonica Steffi MatchadoSharon Miracle NayagamAjoy Prasad ShettyRishi Mugesh KannaK DharmalingamPublished in: European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society (2020)
Our study challenges the hitherto concept of sterility in healthy IVD and documented a microbiome even in MRI normal healthy discs. The varying abundance of bacteria between ND, DD, and DH documents 'dysbiosis' as a possible etiology of DD. Many known pathogens were identified in greater abundance than Propionibacterium acnes, and there was evidence for the presence of the gut/skin/spine microbiome axis.