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In order to compare the difference between young and old intervertebral disc cells and their responsiveness to recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2), disc cells were isolated from the anulus fibrosus (AF) and transition zones of lumbar discs from eight old and eight young New Zealand white rabbits. Compared with the cells from the young rabbits, cells from old rabbits respond less to rhBMP-2 treatment with respect to sulfated-glycosaminoglycan (sGAG) synthesis and aggrecan gene expression. But in collagen Ⅰ and collagen Ⅱ gene expressions, there are no significant differences between the old and the young. When comparing sGAG content, aggrecan, and collagen Ⅱ gene expression of the old AF cells after rhBMP-2 treatment with that of the young AF cells without rhBMP-2 treatment, the old AF cells with rhBMP-2 treatment have a greater capacity to synthesize sGAG bound in the cells and to release sGAG in the media, as well as to express aggrecan and collagen Ⅱ gene. It can be concluded that old AF cells after rhBMP-2 treatment have a greater capacity to synthesize sGAG and express aggrecan and collagen Ⅱ as compared to young AF cells without rhBMP-2 treatment. Thus rhBMP-2 can reverse the decline in the anabolic capacity of the disc cells with ageing. So it seems that rhBMP-2 has potential for use as an agent to retard a key component of disc degeneration and loss of disc matrix.