Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-18-2018
Abstract
There is a well-established link between cytokine expression and the progression of intervertebral disc degeneration. Among these cytokines, interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) are the most commonly studied. To investigate whether systemic hTNF-α overexpression affects intervertebral disc health, we studied the spine phenotype of Tg197 mice, a widely used hTNF-α transgenic line. These mice were studied at 12-16 weeks of age using comprehensive histochemical and immunohistological analysis of the spinal motion segment. Micro-CT analysis was performed to quantify vertebral trabecular bone architecture. The Tg197 mice evidenced spontaneous annular tears and herniation with increased vascularity in subchondral bone and significant immune cell infiltration. The full-thickness annular tear without nucleus pulposus (NP) extrusion resulted in neutrophil, macrophage, and mast cell infiltration into the disc, whereas the disc with full-thickness tear and pronounced NP herniation showed additional presence of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. While the observed defects involved failure of the annular, endplate, and vertebral junction, there were no obvious alterations in the collagen or aggrecan content in the NP and annulus fibrosus or the maturity of collagen fibers in Tg197 mice. Despite elevated systemic inflammation and pronounced loss of trabecular bone in the vertebrae, intact Tg197 discs were healthy and showed an increase in NP cell number. The NP cells in intact discs preserved expression of phenotypic markers: CAIII, Glut1, and Krt19. In conclusion, elevated systemic TNF-α increases the susceptibility of mice to spontaneous disc herniation and possibly radiculopathy, without adversely affecting intact intervertebral disc health.
Recommended Citation
Gorth, Deborah J.; Shapiro, Irving M.; and Risbud, Makarand V., "Transgenic mice overexpressing human TNF-α experience early onset spontaneous intervertebral disc herniation in the absence of overt degeneration." (2018). Department of Orthopaedic Surgery Faculty Papers. Paper 115.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/orthofp/115
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
30584238
Language
English
Comments
This article has been peer reviewed. It is the author’s final published version in Cell Death and Disease, Volume 10, Issue 1, December 2018, Article number 7.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-018-1246-x. Copyright © Gorth et al.
Publication made possible in part by support from the Thomas Jefferson University + Philadelphia University Open Access Fund