Constructing intervertebral disc degeneration animal model: A review of current models.

Low back pain is one of the top disorders that leads to disability and affects disability-adjusted life years (DALY) globally. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and subsequent discogenic pain composed major causes of low back pain. Recent studies have identified several important risk factors contributing to IDD's development, such as inflammation, mechanical imbalance, and aging.

YTHDF1 Enhances Chondrogenic Differentiation by Activating the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

Cartilage is derived from the chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells, for which the regulatory mechanism has not been fully elucidated. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) messenger RNA (mRNA) methylation is the most common posttranscriptional modification in eukaryotic mRNAs and is mediated by m6A regulators. However, whether m6A regulators play roles in chondrogenic differentiation is unknown.

Evaluating bone quality and asymmetrical aplasia of the thoracic vertebral body in Lenke 1A adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using hounsfield units.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis.

Objective: To evaluate bone quality and investigate asymmetrical development of the thoracic vertebral body in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) based on Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements obtained from computed-tomography (CT) scans.

Summary Of Background Data: HU value demonstrated higher reliability and accuracy than the traditional method, indicating that they could be used to individually evaluate and effectively assess the bone quality of every vertebra in the CT films.

Irisin enhances chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells via Rap1/PI3K/AKT axis.

Background: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have been proven to have inherent chondrogenic differentiation potential, which appears to be used in cartilage regeneration. Increasing evidence suggests that irisin enhances osteoblast differentiation of MSCs, but little is known about its potential on chondrogenic differentiation.

Methods: In the study, we investigated the effects of irisin on chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs using a high-density pellet culture system.

Irisin Ameliorates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Activating LATS/YAP/CTGF Signaling.

Unbalanced metabolism of an extracellular matrix (ECM) in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) is widely acknowledged as the primary cause of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Irisin, a novel myokine, is cleaved from fibronectin type III domain-containing 5 (FNDC5) and has recently been proven to regulate the metabolism of ECM. However, little is known about its potential on NPCs and the development of IDD.

Self-amplifying loop of NF-κB and periostin initiated by PIEZO1 accelerates mechano-induced senescence of nucleus pulposus cells and intervertebral disc degeneration.

Abnormal mechanical load is a main risk factor of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), and cellular senescence is a pathological change in IDD. In addition, extracellular matrix (ECM) stiffness promotes human nucleus pulposus cells (hNPCs) senescence. However, the molecular mechanism underlying mechano-induced cellular senescence and IDD progression is not yet fully elucidated.

Comparison of anterior or posterior approach in surgical treatment of thoracic and lumbar tuberculosis: a retrospective case-control study.

Background: With the widespread use of the posterior surgery, more and more surgeons chose posterior surgery to treat thoracic and lumbar tuberculosis. But others still believed that the anterior surgery is more conducive to eradicating the lesions, and easier to place larger bone pieces for bone graft fusion. We compared the clinical and radiological outcomes of anterior and posterior surgical approaches and presented our views.

Melatonin reverses tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced metabolic disturbance of human nucleus pulposus cells via MTNR1B/Gαi2/YAP signaling.

: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), the main cause of low back pain, is closely related to the inflammatory microenvironment in the nucleus pulposus (NP). Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an important role in inflammation-related metabolic disturbance of NP cells. Melatonin has been proven to regulate the metabolism of NP cells, but whether it can protect NP cells from TNF-α-induced damage is still unclear.

Corrigendum to "Melatonin Reverses the Loss of Stemness Induced by TNF- in Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Upregulation of YAP Expression".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2019/6568394.].

Aloin Regulates Matrix Metabolism and Apoptosis in Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells via the TAK1/NF-B/NLRP3 Signaling Pathway.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a degenerative disease that is characterized by decreased matrix synthesis and extra degradation, nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) apoptosis, and infiltration of inflammatory factors. Aloin, a colored compound from aloe plants, has been shown to be effective against skeletal degenerative diseases, but it is unclear whether it is protective against IDD. Herein, we investigated the role of aloin in NPCs.

Inhibition of nuclear receptor RORα attenuates cartilage damage in osteoarthritis by modulating IL-6/STAT3 pathway.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by cartilage destruction, chronic inflammation, and local pain. Evidence showed that retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-α (RORα) is crucial in cartilage development and OA pathogenesis. Here, we investigated the role and molecular mechanism of RORα, an important member of the nuclear receptor family, in regulating the development of OA pathologic features.

Inverse Agonist of Retinoid-Related Orphan Receptor-Alpha Prevents Apoptosis and Degeneration in Nucleus Pulposus Cells via Upregulation of YAP.

Intervertebral disc degenerative disease (IDD) is the most common degenerative spine disease, which leads to chronic low back pain and symptoms in the lower extremities. In this study, we found that ROR, a member of the retinoid-related orphan receptor family, is significantly elevated in nucleus pulposus tissue in IDD patients. The elevation of ROR is associated with increased apoptosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells.

Melatonin promotes bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation and prevents osteoporosis development through modulating circ_0003865 that sponges miR-3653-3p.

Background: Little is known about the implications of circRNAs in the effects of melatonin (MEL) on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) osteogenic differentiation and osteoporosis (OP) progression. The aim of our study was to investigate circRNAs in MEL-regulated BMSC differentiation and OP progression.

Methods: BMSC osteogenic differentiation was measured by qRT-PCR, western blot (WB), Alizarin Red, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining.

Melatonin Reverses the Loss of Stemness Induced by TNF- in Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Upregulation of YAP Expression.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for tissue regeneration and disease treatment. However, long-term culture results in loss of MSC stemness. The inflammation that occurs at stem cell transplant sites (such as that resulting from TNF-) is a contributing factor for stem cell treatment failure.