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2022, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (14): 2190-2195Correlation between interleukin 23/helper T17 cell axis and lumbar disc herniationYang Yang1, Liu Jiajia1, Xue Jianhua1, Liu Yunfei2, Yao Yu3
Abstract: BACKGROUND: For lumbar disc herniation, interleukin-23 promotes the Th17 cells to secrete interleukin-17, and then interleukin-17 cooperates with tumor necrosis factor-α to produce inflammation mediators. It would aggravate inflammation and autoimmune response, and then cause some symptoms such as sciatica. OBJECTIVE: To explore the association between interleukin-23/Th17 axis and lumbar disc herniation. METHODS: Thirty-eight samples of nucleus pulposus were selected, of which 30 were taken from patients with lumbar disc herniation (trial group) and 8 from patients with lumbar vertebral fractures (control group). Peripheral blood samples were meanwhile taken from two groups of patients on admission. All patients, who were admitted to the Department of Spine Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, were diagnosed based on clinical symptoms, imaging examinations and intraoperative confirmation. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of interleukin 23 in the nucleus pulposus tissue, and ELISA assay was used to detect the levels of interleukin 17, interleukin 23, and tumor necrosis factor-α in the nucleus pulposus tissue and peripheral blood. Pearson correlation analysis was then performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Immunohistochemistry detection showed that the expression of interleukin-23 was significantly higher in the trial group than the control group (P < 0.01). The levels of interleukin-17, interleukin-23 and tumor necrosis factor-α in the nucleus pulpous and peripheral blood all significantly increased in the trial group compared with the control group (P < 0.01). There was a significant positive correlation between these three cytokines in the nucleus pulposus tissue of the trial group (r > 0.5, P < 0.01). To conclude, lumbar disc herniation is closely related to interleukin-23/Th17 axis inflammatory response. Key words:lumbar disc herniation, interleukin-23, interleukin-17, helper T17 cells, tumor necrosis factor-α, cytokine, inflammation |