Background
Low back pain (LBP) has the characteristics of chronic and persistence, which is a heavy social burden. Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a major cause of LBP. The typical features of IVDD are extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation and nucleus pulposus cell (NP) apoptosis. Bushen Huoxue Formula (BSHXF) has good clinical effects on LBP. However, the mechanism of BSHXF affecting ECM and NP cells is still unclear.
Conclusions
BSHXF regulates autophagy and enhances autophagic flux to suppress excessive ROS production and restore mitochondrial function in an AMPK/SIRT1-dependent manner. However, the protection of BSHXF on TNF-α-treated cells was eliminated by 3-MA. Furthermore, the protective impact of BSHXF on ECM degradation and apoptosis induced by TNF-α was restrained by an AMPK inhibitor. Therefore, maintaining the proper autophagy illustrates treatment strategy for IVDD.
Results
BSHXF promoted NP cell survival in a concentration-dependent manner, and the elimination of rat serum did not increase cell proliferation; TNF-α accelerated ECM degradation, ROS accumulation, and NP cell apoptosis and decreased autophagic flux. BSHXF restored mitochondrial function and autophagic flux. In addition, AMPK/SIRT1 pathway activation was associated with IVDD. Conclusions: BSHXF regulates autophagy and enhances autophagic flux to suppress excessive ROS production and restore mitochondrial function in an AMPK/SIRT1-dependent manner. However, the protection of BSHXF on TNF-α-treated cells was eliminated by 3-MA. Furthermore, the protective impact of BSHXF on ECM degradation and apoptosis induced by TNF-α was restrained by an AMPK inhibitor. Therefore, maintaining the proper autophagy illustrates treatment strategy for IVDD.