Abstract
BackgroundStudies have indicated that interleukin 23 (IL-23) plays an important role in many inflammatory- and autoimmune-related diseases. However, there is little knowledge about IL-23 in lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Thus, in this study, we aimed to find out whether IL-23 is expressed in intervertebral discs (IVDs) and what roles it may play.MethodsHuman IVD tissues were collected from 29 LDH patients and 8 vertebral fracture patients (normal control, NC group). According to the integrity of annulus fibrosus, LDH patients were divided into two groups: R group (ruptured group, n = 16) and NR group (non-ruptured group, n = 13). Morphological changes of IVDs were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin (HE staining), and expression of IL-23 in IVD tissues was detected by immunohistochemical staining. Besides gene expression of IL-23, IL-17, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α was also evaluated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).ResultsThe results showed that the R group was more degenerated than the other two groups and NC group showed the least degenerated performance; stronger positive IL-23 expression was observed in herniated IVDs, especially in the R group. Meanwhile, higher gene expression of IL-23, IL-17, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α was found in the tissues from LDH patients and a positive correlation between IL-17 and IL-23 gene expression was also observed.ConclusionsTaken all above results together, it may be deduced that higher expression of IL-23 may contribute to the deterioration of IVDs through the IL-23/IL-17 pathway.
Highlights
Studies have indicated that interleukin 23 (IL-23) plays an important role in many inflammatory- and autoimmune-related diseases
Jiang et al Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research (2016) 11:12 production of IL-17 without the engagement of T cell receptor in γσT cells [27]. Both IL-23 and IL-17 form a new axis through Th17 cells, which play an important role in many autoimmunity and chronic inflammation diseases, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease [28,29,30], and targeting on them has become a new strategy for these kind of diseases as some exciting news have been reported in several articles [31, 32]
The results showed that the mRNA levels of IL-23, IL-17, IL-1β, and TNF-α were significantly higher in the ruptured group when compared to the nonruptured group, but no expression differences were observed at IL-6 between the two groups, and all above cytokines are least detected in the normal control group (Fig. 3)
Summary
Studies have indicated that interleukin 23 (IL-23) plays an important role in many inflammatory- and autoimmune-related diseases. Jiang et al Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research (2016) 11:12 production of IL-17 without the engagement of T cell receptor in γσT cells [27] Both IL-23 and IL-17 form a new axis through Th17 cells, which play an important role in many autoimmunity and chronic inflammation diseases, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease [28,29,30], and targeting on them has become a new strategy for these kind of diseases as some exciting news have been reported in several articles [31, 32]. Take into consideration that macrophages are the predominantly infiltrated cells in herniated discs and can secrete IL-23 when they are activated, we may speculate that IL-23/Th17/IL-17 axis may still have a contribution to the pathogenesis of LDH. The current study was carried out to investigate whether IL-23 was expressed in IVD tissues and whether IL-23/ IL-17 pathway plays a role in the pathogenesis of LDH
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