The Role of Hypoxia in Angiogenesis and Extracellular Matrix Regulation of Intervertebral Disc Cells During Inflammatory Reactions.

Background: The intervertebral disc (IVD) is an avascular structure, and is therefore stable under hypoxic conditions. Previous studies have demonstrated that hypoxia might be related to symptomatic degenerative disc diseases (DDDs); however, the pathomechanism is still poorly understood.

Objective: To identify the effect of hypoxia on the production of inflammatory mediators, angiogenic factors, and extracellular matrix-regulating enzymes of IVD cells during inflammatory reactions.

Methods: Human nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) cells harvested during surgery for DDDs were cultured in macrophage conditioned media or interleukin (IL)-1β-stimulated media under hypoxic (2%) and normoxic (21%) conditions. Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α transcription factor activation was analyzed by western blotting. IL-6, IL-8, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, MMP-3, tissue inhibitor of metalloprotease (TIMP)-1, and TIMP-2 in conditioned media were measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Results: NP cells expressed higher hypoxia-inducible factor-1α in the IL-1β-stimulated group under hypoxic condition. MMP-1 was significantly increased in the AF cells under hypoxic condition; TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were significantly decreased in both naïve NP and AF cells during hypoxia. Both cells in macrophage conditioned media significantly diminished the production of IL-6 and VCAM, while VEGF significantly increased during hypoxia. After 1 ng/mL IL-1β stimulation, IL-8, VEGF, MMP-1, and MMP-3 were significantly increased in both cell types during hypoxia, while VCAM, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 were decreased.

Conclusion: We found that hypoxia can enhance the angiogenic ability of IVD during inflammatory reactions, and cause progress in development of DDD via extracellular matrix regulation in this in vitro study.