tretinoin and Intervertebral-Disc-Degeneration

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a common disease initiated by the degeneration of the nucleus pulposus (NP). The pyroptosis of degenerated NP cells (dNPCs) plays an important role in NP degeneration. The purpose of this study is to identify a feasible solution that can inhibit NP cell pyroptosis to therapy the degeneration of the intervertebral disc.. Cell viability and proliferation were quantified by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. The measurement of cellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected by 2,7-Dichlorodi-hydrofluorescein diacetate. The death of cells was analyzed by the Terminal Deoxynucleotidyl Transferase-mediated dUTP Nick-End Labeling (TUNEL) method of fluorescence analysis. The pyroptosis of cells was assessed by flow cytometry analyses. The contents of sulfate glycosaminoglycans were detected by a blyscan assay kit.. In this study, we determined the effects of retinoic acid (RA) on dNPCs and investigated the underlying mechanism of RA-mediated pyroptosis in dNPCs. We also verified the effects of RA on IVD degeneration in vivo. Our results demonstrated that RA significantly increased the proliferation and the protein expression of sox9, aggrecan, and collagen II of dNPCs. Pyroptosis-related proteins and the pyroptosis rate of dNPCs were significantly decreased by RA. We found that Sirt1-SOD2 signaling was activated, while ROS generation and TXNIP/NLRP3 signaling in dNPCs were inhibited after the addition of RA. Furthermore, RA also recovered the structure of NP and increased the contents of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and collagen in vivo.. Our study demonstrated that RA could inhibit the pyroptosis and increase the extracellular matrix synthesis function of dNPCs and verified that RA has a protective effect on IVD degeneration.

Topics: Glycosaminoglycans; Humans; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration; Nucleus Pulposus; Pyroptosis; Reactive Oxygen Species; Sirtuin 1; Tretinoin

We hypothesized that AF/neuron interactions during annular injury were involved in neovascularization and nerve ingrowth, the pathologic hallmarks of symptomatic disc degeneration.. To identify growth factors and inflammatory cytokines related to AF/neuron interactions using in vitro model.. Discogenic pain is the chronic intractable pain initiated by tears in the outer annulus fibrosus (AF); this is a unique structure with free nerve endings at outer one-third, located beside dorsal root ganglia. The relationship between AF and neuron cells in annular injury has not been extensively investigated.. Human AF cells were cocultured with a retinoic acid (RA)-treated SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cell line (neuron-like cells). Conditioned media from cells cultured alone or in coculture were assayed for growth factors and inflammatory cytokines using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The responses of the neuron-like cells, the AF cells, and the cocultured group to IL-1β/TNF-α were compared using the same outcome measures.. RA-treated SH-SY5Y cells showed significant neurite outgrowth on the 7th day; this is a typical morphologic finding of neuron-like cells. Neuron-like cells produced vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and IGF-1 under basal conditions and dose-dependently secreted small amounts of IL-8 in response to TNF-α. Coculturing enhanced the secretion of VEGF, TGF-β1, and β-NGF, and suppressed the production of IGF-1. VEGF in the coculture group and the AF cells was downregulated by IL-1β/TNF-α stimulation. IL-1β/TNF-α stimulation enhanced the production of large amounts of IL-6 and IL-8 from AF cells; IL-1β produced a greater response than TNF-α. The neuron-like cells did not produce detectable amounts of IL-6 or IL-8.. These studies suggest that AF cells are involved in an inflammatory reaction and that the interactions between AF and neuron-like cells enhance the production of growth factors responsible for neovascularization and nerve ingrowth. AF injury has the potential to initiate neovascularization/nerve ingrowth and an inflammatory reaction through the interactions of AF and neural tissues.

Topics: Cell Line, Tumor; Coculture Techniques; Culture Media, Conditioned; Cytokines; Female; Humans; Interleukin-1beta; Intervertebral Disc; Intervertebral Disc Degeneration; Male; Neovascularization, Pathologic; Nerve Growth Factors; Neurites; Neuroblastoma; Neurons; Recombinant Proteins; Tretinoin; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha