Department of Orthopedic and Spinal Surgery, Nanfang Hospital, Southern University, 1838 North Guangzhou Avenue, Guangzhou, PR China.
Injury. 2011 Aug;42(8):790-5. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2011.01.034. Epub 2011 Feb 26.
Vertebral endplate tissues were obtained from patients with degenerated lumbar disc classified as Modic type 1 or type 2 and investigated with immunohistochemical staining and the DNA nick end labelling techniques.
To examine the expression of fas receptor (FasR) and apoptosis in the endplate cells isolated from patients with degenerative disc disease and to see whether they are associated with the pathological change of endplate.
Fifty-six degenerated lumbar endplate specimens were obtained from the patients with degenerative disc disease categorized as type Modic I or II in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and eight nondegenerated specimens as control (vertebra burst fracture patients without degenerative change in MRI) during surgical procedures. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the presence of FasR and apoptosis in sections of those endplate tissues. To investigate whether the FasR expression and apoptosis in endplate were influenced by degeneration and ageing of the discs, the level of FasR expression and apoptosis in the changed and unchanged endplates was analysed.
FasR were expressed in the cytoplasm of the endplate cells. A higher degree of FasR expression and apoptosis in endplate cells in degenerated discs was found than that in nondegenerated discs. In cell culture, the level of FasR expression and apoptosis in cells from the degenerative endplates was higher than those in unchanged endplates. The percentage of FasR-positive endplate and apoptotic endplate cells correlated significantly with the patient's age (r=0.301, p<0.05; r=0.307, p<0.05. respectively), but not with the degree of disc degeneration in MRI (r=0.047, p>0.05; r=0.066, p>0.05, respectively).
This is the first study to compare the expression of FasR and apoptosis on vertebral endplate cells in degenerated disc with in nondegenerated disc. The results show that the endplate in degenerated disc may undergo fas-mediated apoptosis and vice versa, endplate degenerative changes may promotes apoptosis of the endplate cells within degenerated disc.
从患有 MRI 分类为 Modic 1 或 2 型退变的腰椎间盘患者中获取椎体终板组织，并用免疫组织化学染色和 DNA 缺口末端标记技术进行研究。
检测 Fas 受体（FasR）在退变椎间盘终板细胞中的表达，探讨其与终板病变的关系。
在手术过程中，从退变椎间盘患者（MRI 分类为 Modic I 或 II 型）中获得 56 个退变腰椎终板标本，并从无退变改变的 MRI 椎体爆裂骨折患者（非退变）中获得 8 个正常终板标本作为对照。用免疫组织化学染色法检测这些终板组织切片中 FasR 的表达和凋亡。为了研究 FasR 在终板中的表达和凋亡是否受椎间盘退变和老化的影响，分析了退变和未退变终板中 FasR 表达和凋亡的水平。
FasR 在终板细胞的细胞质中表达。退变椎间盘终板细胞 FasR 表达和凋亡程度高于非退变椎间盘。细胞培养中，退变终板细胞 FasR 表达和凋亡水平高于未退变终板。 FasR 阳性终板和凋亡终板细胞的百分比与患者年龄呈显著相关（r=0.301，p<0.05；r=0.307，p<0.05），但与 MRI 上椎间盘退变程度无关（r=0.047，p>0.05；r=0.066，p>0.05）。
这是首次比较退变与非退变椎间盘椎体终板细胞 FasR 表达和凋亡的研究。结果表明，退变椎间盘终板可能通过 Fas 介导的凋亡，反之亦然，终板退变可能促进退变椎间盘终板细胞凋亡。
