Aberrant mechanical loading induces annulus fibrosus cells apoptosis in intervertebral disc degeneration via mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1.

Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is closely associated with the structural damage in the annulus fibrosus (AF). Aberrant mechanical loading is an important inducement of annulus fibrosus cells (AFCs) apoptosis, which contributes to the AF structural damage and aggravates IVDD, but the underlying mechanism is still unclear. This study aims to investigate the mechanism of a mechanosensitive ion channel protein Piezo1 in aberrant mechanical loading-induced AFCs apoptosis and IVDD.

Optineurin-mediated mitophagy as a potential therapeutic target for intervertebral disc degeneration.

Low back pain is thought to be mainly caused by intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), and there is a lack of effective treatments. Cellular senescence and matrix degradation are important factors that cause disc degeneration. Mitochondrial dysfunction induced by oxidative stress is an important mechanism of cellular senescence and matrix degradation in the nucleus pulposus (NP), and mitophagy can effectively remove damaged mitochondria, restore mitochondrial homeostasis, and mitigate the damage caused by oxidative stress.

Pretreatment of nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells with appropriate concentration of HO enhances their ability to treat intervertebral disc degeneration.

Background: Nucleus pulposus mesenchymal stem cells (NPMSCs) transplantation is a promising treatment for intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). However, the transplanted NPMSCs exhibited weak cell proliferation, high cell apoptosis, and a low ability to resist the harsh microenvironment of the degenerated intervertebral disc. There is an urgent need to explore feasible methods to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of NPMSCs transplantation.

Chemiluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer Efficiency and Donor-Acceptor Distance: from Qualitative to Quantitative.

Since its birth in 1967, the utilization of chemiluminescence resonance energy transfer (CRET) has made substantial progress in a variety of fields for its unique features. However, the quantitative relationship between CRET efficiency and donor-acceptor distance has not yet been determined owing to the difficulty in designing the variable lengths between chemiluminescent donors and acceptors. Herein, we synthesized three kinds of tetraphenylethene (TPE)-anchored cationic surfactants with aggregation-induced emission (AIE) characteristics.