Intervertebral disc (IVD) has a pivotal role in the maintenance of flexible motion. IVD degeneration is one of the primary causes of low back pain and disability, which seriously influences patients' health, and increases the family and social economic burden. Recently stem cell therapy has been proven to be more effective on IVD degeneration disease. However, stem cell senescence is the limiting factor in the IVD degeneration treatment. Senescent stem cells have a negative effect on the self-repair on IVD degeneration. In this review, we delineate that the factors such as telomerase shortening, DNA damage, oxidative stress, microenvironment and exosomes may induce stem cell aging. Recent studies tried to delay the aging of stem cells by regulating the expression of aging-related genes and proteins, changing the activity of telomerase, improving the survival microenvironment of stem cells and drug treatment. Understanding the mechanism of stem cell aging and exploring new approaches to delay or reverse stem cell aging informs research on the repair of the degenerated disc.

中文翻译：

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干细胞衰老：退行性椎间盘疾病的治疗障碍。

椎间盘（IVD）在维持灵活运动方面具有举足轻重的作用。IVD变性是下腰痛和残疾的主要原因之一，严重影响患者的健康，并增加家庭和社会经济负担。最近，干细胞疗法已被证明对IVD变性疾病更有效。然而，干细胞衰老是IVD变性治疗中的限制因素。衰老的干细胞对IVD变性的自我修复有负面影响。在这篇综述中，我们描述了端粒酶缩短，DNA损伤，氧化应激，微环境和外泌体等因素可能诱导干细胞衰老。最近的研究试图通过调节衰老相关基因和蛋白质的表达，改变端粒酶的活性，从而延缓干细胞的衰老，改善干细胞的生存微环境和药物治疗。了解干细胞衰老的机制，并探索延缓或逆转干细胞衰老的新方法，有助于研究退化椎间盘的修复。