G-Protein Coupled Receptor 35 Induces Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Mediating the Influx of Calcium Ions and Upregulating Reactive Oxygen Species

Figure 2

Deficiency of GPR35 alleviates IDD in aged human NPCs and mice. (a). Deletion of GPR35 gene expression with siRNA in aged NPCs rescued the decreased expression of collagen II and aggrecan and inhibited increased expression of MMP-3. (b). Expression of collagen II and aggrecan proteins was rescued when GPR35 was inhibited. (c, d) In mice aged 14-months old, knockdown of GPR35 alleviated the severity of IDD, showing less loss of notochordal cells and fewer fissures in annulus fibrosus. According to modified Thompson grade for histological grading of intervertebral disc in H-E straining, it was grade 2 and grad 3 for GPR35^-/- mice and wild-type mice, respectively. (e, f) The NPs in GPR35^-/- mice reserved more collagen and proteoglycan than those in wild-type mice. (Data are shown as the . , , and for comparisons between two groups. One-way ANOVA and Tukey’s multiple comparison test were used for statistical analysis).

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