Project description:Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) results from dysfunction of nucleus pulposus cells (NPs) and exhaustion of NP progenitors (ProNPs). Cellular applications of NPs during IDD are currently limited by lack of in vivo studies showing whether NPs are heterogenous and contain ProNPs throughout postnatal stages. Here, using single-cell RNA sequencing of purified NPs, we mapped four molecularly defined populations and identified Urotensin II receptor (UTS2R)-expressing postnatal ProNPs, which markedly exhausted during IDD, in mouse and human specimens. Lineage tracing showed that UTS2R+ ProNPs preferentially reside in the NP periphery with its niche factor-Tenascin-C and give rise to functional NPs. We also demonstrate that transplanting UTS2R+ ProNPs with Tenascin-C to injured intervertebral discs attenuates the progression of IDD. Our findings provide a novel NP cell atlas, identify resident ProNPs with regenerative potential and reveal promising diagnostic and therapeutic targets for IDD.
Project description:Nucleus pulposus (NP) plays a vital role in intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). Previous studies have revealed cellular heterogeneity in the NP tissue during IVDD progression. Here, we used single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze the cellular and molecular alterations of diverse cell clusters during IVDD.
Project description:It is well documented that low back pain is a common condition and the leading cause of disability globally. A widely recognised contributor to low back pain is intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD), which is the major cause of a series of degenerative disc diseases. Recently, it has been reported that circRNAs are involved in the development of IVDD. However, the mechanisms by which m6A modifies circRNA in nucleus pulposus cells remain poorly understood. Here, we aim to identify differentially expressed m6A circRNAs in degenerative nucleus pulposus cells and figure out how the circRNAs regulate IVDD progression and the m6A methylation functions.
Project description:Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is an important cause of low back pain. And abnormal mechanical factors are an important contributor to IDD. To identify mechanical responsive miRNAs in IDD, we used a custom-made compression device to establish IDD in rats and considered as IDD group, and the Sham group was inserted with K-wires into coccyxes only. After four weeks, rat nucleus pulposus tissues were obtained for miR-seq analysis.
Project description:Transcriptional analysis of 24-month-old primary nucleus pulposus (NP) and annulus fibrosus (AF) mouse disc tissues from Sirt6fl/fl and Sirt6cKO mice, which harbor a mutation which constiuitively deletes Sirtuin 6 in aggrecan expressing cells. SIRT6 loss causes intervertebral disc degeneration in mice by dysregulating senescence and SASP status
Project description:Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) leads to low back pain and disability globally. The pathophysiology of IDD is not entirely understood. There is increasing evidence that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play a key regulatory role in a wide range of biological processes. The purpose of this study was to comprehensively lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles of human intervertebral disc (IVD) tissues, specifically nucleus pulpous (NP) tissues, with early and advanced stages of disc degeneration. The overview of lncRNA and mRNA expression profiles in the current study revealed that differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs were identified that have been reported to be relevant to IDD. Importantly, differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs that regulate the major signaling pathways, such as NF-κB, MAPK, and Wnt signaling, that are well known to be responsible for the pathogenesis of IDD.
Project description:Our studies show that TonEBP-deficiency causes pronounced degeneration of all three intervertebral disc compartments with greater incidence of herniation in the mouse. The disc phenotype is marked by extracellular matrix remodeling, actin cytoskeleton rearrangements, and suppressed proinflammatory gene expression, advancing our understanding of the contributions of TonEBP in intervertebral disc homeostasis and disease. We used microarray to explore the transcriptomics of differentially expressed genes of annulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue in TonEBP haploinsufficient mice on a C57BL/6 background.