Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, 329-0498, Japan.
Eur Cell Mater. 2010 Jan 14;19:13-21. doi: 10.22203/ecm.v019a02.
Although intervertebral disc herniation and associated sciatica is a common disease, its molecular pathogenesis is not well understood. Immune responses are thought to be involved. This study provides direct evidence that even non-degenerated nucleus pulposus (NP) cells elicit immune responses. An in vitro colony forming inhibition assay demonstrated the suppressive effects of autologous spleen cells on NP cells and an in vitro cytotoxicity assay showed the positive cytotoxic effects of natural killer (NK) cells and macrophages on NP cells. Non-degenerated rat NP tissues transplanted into wild type rats and immune-deficient mice demonstrated a significantly higher NP cell survival rate in immune-deficient mice. Immunohistochemical staining showed the presence of macrophages and NK cells in the transplanted NP tissues. These results suggest that even non-degenerated autologous NP cells are recognized by macrophages and NK cells, which may have an immunological function in the early phase of disc herniation. These findings contribute to understanding resorption and the inflammatory reaction to disc herniation.
虽然椎间盘突出症和相关的坐骨神经痛是一种常见疾病，但它的分子发病机制尚不清楚。人们认为免疫反应与之相关。本研究提供了直接证据，表明即使是非退化的髓核（NP）细胞也会引发免疫反应。体外集落形成抑制试验表明，自体脾细胞对 NP 细胞具有抑制作用，体外细胞毒性试验表明自然杀伤（NK）细胞和巨噬细胞对 NP 细胞具有阳性细胞毒性作用。将非退化的大鼠 NP 组织移植到野生型大鼠和免疫缺陷型小鼠中，结果显示免疫缺陷型小鼠中 NP 细胞的存活率明显更高。免疫组织化学染色显示移植的 NP 组织中存在巨噬细胞和 NK 细胞。这些结果表明，即使是非退化的自体 NP 细胞也会被巨噬细胞和 NK 细胞识别，这可能在椎间盘突出的早期阶段具有免疫功能。这些发现有助于了解椎间盘突出症的吸收和炎症反应。
