Reactive Oxygen Species Mediate Low Back Pain by Upregulating Substance P in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Figure 3

ROS significantly induced the expression of substance P. (a) H₂O₂ significantly induced the expression of the SP gene in NPCs in a dose-dependent manner with RT-PCR expression. (b) Western blot analysis also verified the increase in SP after stimulation with H₂O₂ in a dose-dependent manner. (c) Administration of H₂O₂ into the IVDs of rats resulted in significant upregulation of the SP protein. (d) IHC analysis suggested a remarkable increase in SP protein levels in the NP after administration of 100 μM H₂O₂, while the expression of the SP protein in the sham surgery group was low (The data are shown as the . for each group. <0.05, <0.01 and <0.001 for comparisons between two or three groups. Student’s test was used for comparisons between two groups, while one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test were used for comparisons among three or more groups).

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