Gene expression profile of lipopolysaccharide‑induced apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells reversed by syringic acid.

Apoptosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells has an important role in the process of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), and the search for novel compounds to prevent apoptosis from occurring is urgently required. In the present study, syringic acid (SyrA) was found to exhibit no cytotoxicity on NP cells, and was able to reverse the cytotoxicity, as well as the abnormal expression of Bcl‑2 and caspase‑3, that were induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The transcriptomes of each group were then analyzed using RNA‑Seq.