interleukin-8 and Sciatica

Scoliotic and herniated human intervertebral disc tissue obtained intraoperatively was cultured, and the medium was analyzed for the production of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-8.. This study was conducted to determine whether the human intervertebral disc is capable of spontaneous production of the chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-8.. Lumbar disc herniations undergo spontaneous regression with time. This is believed to occur via macrophage-mediated phagocytosis of herniated disc material. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, a chemotactic agent for macrophages, has recently been identified in rat intervertebral disc tissue.. Disc material obtained from patients undergoing surgery for scoliosis and sciatica was cultured using a serumless technique, and the medium was subsequently analyzed for levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-8.. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and IL-8 were detected in both control and herniated disc specimens. Noncontained herniations produced higher levels of chemokines than those with an intact anulus.. Human intervertebral disc tissue is capable of spontaneously producing the proinflammatory chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and interleukin-8. These are chemotactic for macrophages and capillaries and may explain the ingrowth of granulation tissue seen in spontaneous disc herniation resorption.

Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Chemokine CCL2; Child; Child, Preschool; Culture Media, Conditioned; Culture Techniques; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Humans; Interleukin-8; Intervertebral Disc; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Male; Reproducibility of Results; Sciatica; Scoliosis

Herniated intervertebral disc tissue has been shown to produce a number of proinflammatory mediators and cytokines, but there have been no similar studies using discs from patients with discogenic low back pain. We have compared the levels of production of interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) in disc tissue from patients undergoing discectomy for sciatica (63) with that from patients undergoing fusion for discogenic low back pain (20) using an enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay. There was a statistically significant difference between levels of production of IL-6 and IL-8 in the sciatica and low back pain groups (p < 0.006 and p < 0.003, respectively). The high levels of proinflammatory mediator found in disc tissue from patients undergoing fusion suggest that production of proinflammatory mediators within the nucleus pulposus may be a major factor in the genesis of a painful lumbar disc.

Topics: Adult; Diskectomy; Female; Humans; Inflammation Mediators; Interleukin-1; Interleukin-6; Interleukin-8; Intervertebral Disc; Intervertebral Disc Displacement; Male; Sciatica; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha