| First Author | Chen F | Year | 2024 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 15 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 47 |
| PubMed ID | 38167807 | Mgi Jnum | J:351156 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:7571978 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-023-44313-9 |
| Citation | Chen F, et al. (2024) Serglycin secreted by late-stage nucleus pulposus cells is a biomarker of intervertebral disc degeneration. Nat Commun 15(1):47 |
| abstractText | Intervertebral disc degeneration is a natural process during aging and a leading cause of lower back pain. Here, we generate a comprehensive atlas of nucleus pulposus cells using single-cell RNA-seq analysis of human nucleus pulposus tissues (three males and four females, age 41.14 +/- 18.01 years). We identify fibrotic late-stage nucleus pulposus cells characterized by upregulation of serglycin expression which facilitate the local inflammatory response by promoting the infiltration of inflammatory cytokines and macrophages. Finally, we discover that daphnetin, a potential serglycin ligand, substantially mitigates the local inflammatory response by downregulating serglycin expression in an in vivo mouse model, thus alleviating intervertebral disc degeneration. Taken together, we identify late-stage nucleus pulposus cells and confirm the potential mechanism by which serglycin regulates intervertebral disc degeneration. Our findings indicate that serglycin is a latent biomarker of intervertebral disc degeneration and may contribute to development of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. |
