Melatonin alleviates intervertebral disc degeneration by disrupting the IL-1β/NF-κB-NLRP3 inflammasome positive feedback loop

Object. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) induces neurological symptoms in intervertebral disc herniation (IDH). Recently, the existence of a positive feedback loop of IL-1β, which encourages an inflammatory reaction or degeneration in the cells of tendon, has been reported. The authors hypothesized that there is a positive feedback loop of IL-1β in the cells of IDH. Methods. Eight human intervertebral disc specimens were harvested during spinal surgery for lumbar disc herniation. The cells were stimulated in serum-free medium with or without exogenous IL-1β. The messenger RNA (mRNA) was extracted for reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR to quantify the mRNA of endogenous IL-1β, IL-6, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). The cells were then stimulated in serum-free medium with or without exogenous IL-1β, and then exogenous IL-1β was removed. After 2, 4, and 6 days, the medium was collected, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the protein concentration of endogenous IL-1β. The mRNA expressions of endogenous IL-1β, IL-6, COX-2, and MMPs were increased significantly depending on the concentration of exogenous IL-1β. The protein concentration of endogenous IL-1β was increased over time. Conclusions. There was a positive feedback loop of IL-1β in the cells of IDH. Furthermore, the productions of IL-6, COX-2, MMP-1, and MMP-3 were upregulated as a result of the increasing concentration of IL-1β in a positive feedback loop of IL-1β. The authors concluded that this positive feedback loop of IL-1β upregulated the production of mediators and thus can cause cessation of symptoms in IDH.

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Magnoflorine Alleviates “M1” Polarized Macrophage-Induced Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Through Repressing the HMGB1/Myd88/NF-κB Pathway and NLRP3 Inflammasome

Frontiers in Pharmacology ◽

10.3389/fphar.2021.701087 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Feng Zhao ◽

Zhenye Guo ◽

Fushan Hou ◽

Wei Fan ◽

Binqiang Wu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intervertebral Disc ◽

Cell Viability ◽

Disc Degeneration ◽

Inflammatory Cytokines ◽

Nlrp3 Inflammasome ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Intervertebral Disc Degeneration ◽

Catabolic Enzymes ◽

Related Proteins ◽

Pro Inflammatory Cytokines

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is related to the deterioration of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells due to hypertrophic differentiation and calcification. The imbalance of pro-inflammatory (M1 type) and anti-inflammatory (M2 type) macrophages contributes to maintaining tissue integrity. Here, we aimed to probe the effect of Magnoflorine (MAG) on NP cell apoptosis mediated by “M1” polarized macrophages. THP-1 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce “M1” polarized macrophages. Under the treatment with increasing concentrations of MAG, the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-18), high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1), as well as myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and NOD-like receptor 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes in THP-1 cells were determined. What’s more, human NP cells were treated with the conditioned medium (CM) from THP-1 cells. The NP cell viability and apoptosis were evaluated. Western blot (WB) was adopted to monitor the expression of apoptosis-related proteins (Bax, Caspase3, and Caspase9), catabolic enzymes (MMP-3, MMP-13, ADAMTS-4, and ADAMTS-5), and extracellular matrix (ECM) compositions (collagen II and aggrecan) in NP cells. As a result, LPS evidently promoted the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and HMGB1, the MyD88-NF-κB activation, and the NLRP3 inflammasome profile in THP-1 cells, while MAG obviously inhibited the "M1″ polarization of THP-1 cells. After treatment with “M1” polarized THP-1 cell CM, NP cell viability was decreased, while cell apoptosis, the pro-inflammatory cytokines, apoptosis-related proteins, and catabolic enzymes were distinctly up-regulated, and ECM compositions were reduced. After treatment with MAG, NP cell damages were dramatically eased. Furthermore, MAG dampened the HMGB1 expression and inactivated the MyD88/NF-κB pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome in NP cells. In conclusion, this study confirmed that MAG alleviates “M1” polarized macrophage-mediated NP cell damage by inactivating the HMGB1-MyD88-NF-κB pathway and NLRP3 inflammasome, which provides a new reference for IDD treatment.

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