Pro-inflammatory and neurotrophic-factor response of degenerative human intervertebral disc cells to the opportunistic pathogen Cutibacterium acnes

1-2 level fusion surgery at L4/L5 or L5/S1 were obtained from a total of 34 patients [9M, 25F] with an average age of 53 .The mRNA levels of MMP's (subtypes 1, 2, 3, 10, and 13) and ADAMTS's (subtypes1, 4 and 5) were analyzed using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), and the expression levels were then correlated to the Pfirrmann MRI classification system (grade I-V) of lumbar IDD.Results: We report a statistically significant positive correlation between Pfirrmann grades and expression of MMP1(r¼0.67,p¼0.0001),MMP3 (r¼0.61,p¼0.0002),MMP10 (r¼0.6701,p¼0.0001),MMP13 (r¼0.48,p¼0.004),ADAMTS1 (r¼0.67,p¼0.0001) and ADAMTS5 (r¼0.53,p¼0.0017).Interestingly, a post hoc analysis (uncorrected p-values) also demonstrates a positive correlation between Pfirrmann grades and the inflammation markers TNF-α and IL-6.Conclusion: This study shows significant positive correlations between multiple MMPs and ADAMTSs and the Pfirrmann grade for lumbar IDD in patients with LBP.These findings suggest that IDD is strongly associated with the expression of key metalloproteinases.Transcriptional co-expression of MMPs and ADAMTSs indicates the synergistic effect in promoting degeneration.

Abstract licence: CC BY-NC-ND

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