Intervertebral disc degeneration in adult mice with hereditary kyphoscoliosis.

Breeding experiments confirmed that a hereditary form of kyphoscoliosis in the BDL strain mouse was due to an autosomal recessive gene (ky). Sagittal sections of whole vertebral columns from adult homozygous recessive mice (ky/ky) were examined histologically. All mice showed varying degrees of degenerative change in one or more intervertebral discs between the fifth cervical and the second thoracic vertebrae. The changes comprised loss of cells, loss of distinction between nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus, loss of characteristic ring-like structure in the annulus, and development of wedge-shaped discs. In most animals, degenerative disc substance protruded from the disc space, usually posteriorly, sometimes anteriorly, and occasionally through the vertebral end plate cartilage. Posterior protrusions impinged on the spinal cord.