Innovative immune mechanisms and antioxidative therapies of intervertebral disc degeneration

Abstract

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is the basic pathological process of many degenerative diseases of the spine, characterized by series of symptoms, among which low back pain (LBP) is the most common symptom that patients suffer a lot, which not only makes patients and individual families bear a huge pain and psychological burden, but also consumes a lot of medical resources. IDD is usually thought to be relevant with various factors such as genetic predisposition, trauma and aging, and IDD progression is tightly relevant with structural and functional alterations. IDD processes are caused by series of pathological processes, including oxidative stress, matrix decomposition, inflammatory reaction, apoptosis, abnormal proliferation, cell senescence, autophagy as well as sepsis process, among which the oxidative stress and inflammatory response are considered as key link in IDD. The production and clearance of ROS are tightly connected with oxidative stress, which would further simulate various signaling pathways. The phenotype of disc cells could change from matrix anabolism-to matrix catabolism- and proinflammatory-phenotype during IDD. Recent decades, with the relevant reports about oxidative stress and inflammatory response in IDD increasing gradually, the mechanisms researches have attracted much more attention. Consequently, this study focused on the indispensable roles of the oxidative stress and inflammatory response (especially macrophages and cytokines) to illustrate the origin, development, and deterioration of IDD, aiming to provide novel insights in the molecular mechanisms as well as significant clinical values for IDD.

Bioinformatic analysis and identification of macrophage polarization-related genes in intervertebral disc degeneration

“…The infiltration of immune cells such as macrophages may release a large amount of proinflammatory mol- ecules and enhance the inflammation cascade within the disc. Some studies demonstrated that the immune infiltration landscape varied obviously between IDD patients and healthy controls, and macrophages were involved in IDD development as a key immune player [20,21], which is in accordance with this study. Many studies showed that the cross-talk between macrophages and IDD tended to polarize macrophages toward a more proinflammatory state, accelerating intervertebral disc degeneration.…”

Fisetin regulates the biological effects of rat nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells under oxidative stress by sirtuin‐1 pathway

“…IDD has been regarded as the most crucial reason for LBP. It has been reported that more than 40% of LBP is associated with IDD 17 . Until now, the mechanism of IDD is not fully clear, so we must illuminate the pathology of IDD and find new effective reagents for IDD treatment.…”

The Use of Medical Ozone in Chronic Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Can Be an Etiological and Conservative Treatment

“…In this way, the IVD is invaded by granulation tissue with blood vessels and pathological innervation. The blood vessels bring cells from the immune system that release inflammatory mediators, generating even more ROS and promoting a vicious cycle: ROS-proinflammatory cytokines [ 68 ].…”