UM research team develops novel glycan-based strategy to treat intervertebral disc degeneration

MACAU, June 4 - With the global population ageing, intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) has become a leading cause of lower back pain among modern populations, yet effective treatment options remain limited. A research team led by Wang Chunming, professor in the Institute of Chinese Medical Sciences (ICMS) at the University of Macau (UM), has developed a ‘glue’ derived from glucomannan that is designed to repair damaged intervertebral disc tissue, offering a promising new approach to alleviating IDD. The research has been published in the international journal Nature Communications.

As people grow older, degeneration of the intervertebral discs can lead to common symptoms such as chronic lower back pain and reduced mobility in the lower limbs, significantly diminishing quality of life. However, current clinical treatments either only provide temporary pain relief or carry a risk of recurrence following surgery. Through the detailed analysis of clinical specimens and databases, the research team made a groundbreaking discovery: the progression of IDD is linked to the loss of a protein called MFG-E8, which is crucial for maintaining the health of nucleus pulposus cells. Further investigation revealed that this protein depletion is caused by an increase in glycosidases in the nucleus pulposus tissue of the disc. These enzymes act like scissors, cleaving the glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) that normally protect MFG-E8. Building on this finding, the team synthesised a glucomannan octanoate (GMOC), a compound with a structure similar to human GAGs, which can shield MFG-E8 from degradation and resist destruction by glycosidases.

The researchers developed GMOC into a ‘polysaccharide glue’ and tested it in two animal models of IDD (rats and rabbits). The results showed that injections of the polysaccharide glue effectively slowed disc degeneration and alleviated pain symptoms. The research has been patented in China and internationally through UM, and efforts are underway to translate it into clinical applications through industry-academia collaboration. If successfully applied in clinical settings, GMOC could potentially reduce the need for invasive surgery. This study is one of the team’s many achievements in their decade-long research on the use of polysaccharides, oligosaccharides, and glycosaminoglycans for tissue repair and regeneration.

The corresponding author of the study is Prof Wang, and the first three authors are PhD student Liu Yu, and master’s students Chao Tzuwei and Li Yuwei, all from ICMS. The research also received substantial support from Dong Lei, professor in the School of Life Sciences at Nanjing University, and the research team of Geng Dechun, professor at the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. The research was funded by the National Science Fund for Excellent Young Scholars of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (File No.: 32022088), the Science and Technology Development Fund of the Macao SAR (File No.: 0001/2021/AKP, 0024/2023/AFJ, 005/2023/SKL), and UM (File No.: MYRG-GRG2023-00136-ICMS-UMDF, MYRG2022-00100-ICMS). The full text of the research article is available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-58946-5.