Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital , College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea , Seoul, Korea and.
Connect Tissue Res. 2013;54(6):380-5. doi: 10.3109/03008207.2013.848199.
Fractalkine (CX3CL1) and its receptor (CX3CR1) comprise a chemokine system involved in leukocyte recruitment and adhesion in chronic inflammatory disease, but its role in spinal diseases is unknown. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of CX3CL1/CX3CR1 chemokine on hypertrophy of the ligamentum flavum (LF) in degenerative lumbar stenosis (DLS) compared with that of non-degenerative spinal condition (NDS) of the lumbar spine and correlation between expression of CX3CL1/CX3CR1 chemokine and thickness of LF. The mRNA concentrations of CX3CL1/CX3CR1 chemokine were analyzed in the surgically obtained LF specimens from DLS (n = 10) and NDS (n = 11) by real-time PCR. The localization of CX3CL1/CX3CR1 chemokine within the LF was determined using immunohistochemical study. Plasma levels of soluble FKN (sFKN) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. The thickness of the LF was measured with axial T1-weighted MRI. The cells that express CX3CL1/CX3CR1 chemokine ratio in the LF observed in DLS group were substantially higher than in NDS group. In ELISA, the plasma levels of sFKN was significantly increased in DLS compared with patients in the other groups (p = 0.006). There was greater CX3CL1/CX3CR1 expression in DLS as quantified by RT-PCR (p = 0.004, 0.010). Thickness of LF in patients was significantly correlated with serum CX3CL1 level (R(2) = 0.824, p = 0.003) and with mRNA expression of CX3CL1/CX3CR1 (R(2) = 0.671, p = 0.000) (R(2) = 0.514, p = 0.001). This study identified for the first time that increases in CX3CL1 and CX3CR1-expressing cells are significantly related to LF hypertrophy.
趋化因子（CX3CL1）及其受体（CX3CR1）构成了一个趋化因子系统，参与慢性炎症性疾病中的白细胞募集和黏附，但它在脊柱疾病中的作用尚不清楚。本研究旨在探讨 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 趋化因子在退行性腰椎管狭窄症（DLS）与非退行性脊柱疾病（NDS）的黄韧带肥厚中的作用，以及 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 趋化因子的表达与黄韧带厚度之间的相关性。通过实时 PCR 分析了手术获得的 DLS（n = 10）和 NDS（n = 11）黄韧带标本中 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 趋化因子的 mRNA 浓度。通过免疫组织化学研究确定了 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 趋化因子在 LF 中的定位。通过酶联免疫吸附试验分别测量了血浆可溶性 FKN（sFKN）的水平。用轴向 T1 加权 MRI 测量 LF 的厚度。DLS 组 LF 中表达 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 趋化因子的细胞比例明显高于 NDS 组。在 ELISA 中，与其他组相比，DLS 患者的血浆 sFKN 水平显著升高（p = 0.006）。通过 RT-PCR 定量，DLS 中 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 的表达明显增加（p = 0.004，0.010）。患者 LF 的厚度与血清 CX3CL1 水平显著相关（R2 = 0.824，p = 0.003），与 CX3CL1/CX3CR1 的 mRNA 表达显著相关（R2 = 0.671，p = 0.000）（R2 = 0.514，p = 0.001）。本研究首次发现，CX3CL1 和 CX3CR1 表达细胞的增加与 LF 肥厚有显著关系。
