Intervertebral Disc Biology: Genetic Basis of Disc Degeneration.

Purpose of Review: This review aims to highlight recent advances in understanding the genetic basis of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD).

Recent Findings: It has been known for some time that IDD is highly heritable. Recent studies, and in particular the availability of agnostic techniques such as genome-wide association studies, have identified new variants in a variety of genes which contribute to the risk of IDD and to back pain.

Summary: A variety of genetic variants are involved in IDD. Some are shared with variants predisposing to back pain, but few have been identified reliably in either phenotype. Further research is required to explain fully the high heritability and how the genetic variants influence cell biology to lead to IDD.