ArticleEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2017
ISSLS PRIZE IN CLINICAL SCIENCE 2017: Is infection the possible initiator of disc disease? An insight from proteomic analysis.
Article in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 42 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
42 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 70 citations in OpenAlex.
- Evidence for infection in intervertebral disc degeneration: a systematic review.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2022Pooled it
- The contradictory effect of macrophage-related cytokine expression in lumbar disc herniations: a systematic review.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2020Pooled it
- The bacteria-positive proportion in the disc tissue samples from surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2019Pooled it
- Cytokine Patterns as Predictors of Antibiotic Treatment Effect in Chronic Low Back Pain with Modic Changes: Subgroup Analyses of a Randomized Trial (AIM Study).Journal of pain research · 2023Trial
- Recommendations of the International Consensus Meeting (ICM) 2025 on Spinal Infections: Part A Pyogenic Spondylodiscitis.Global spine journal · 2026Article
- Propionibacterium acnes evades microbicidal phagocytosis by inhibiting the mitochondrial biogenesis of nucleus pulposus cells.The FEBS journal · 2026Article
- Advancing Intervertebral Disc Biology via Omics: Implications for Nucleus Pulposus Progenitor Cell-Based Regeneration.JOR spine · 2025Review
- Does the cartilage proteome differ between osteoarthritic knees with varus and valgus deformities? Insights from proteomic analysis.Journal of orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Preclinical development and characterisation of PP353, a formulation of linezolid for intradiscal administration.JOR spine · 2024Article
- Gut microbiome dysbiosis is associated with lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis in symptomatic patients.JOR spine · 2024Article
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- WouldJournal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- Novel Biomarkers of Health and Degeneration in Human Intervertebral Discs: In-depth Proteomic Analysis of Collagen Framework of Fetal, Healthy, Scoliotic, Degenerate, and Herniated Discs.Asian spine journal · 2023Article
- Cytokine Imbalance as a Biomarker of Intervertebral Disk Degeneration.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023Review
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- Are Modic changes 'Primary infective endplatitis'?-insights from multimodal imaging of non-specific low back pain patients and development of a radiological 'Endplate infection probability score'.European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society · 2022Article
- Can Scoliotic Discs Be Controls for Molecular Studies in Intervertebral Disc Research? Insights From Proteomics.Global spine journal · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
STUDY
designProteomic and 16S rDNA analysis of disc tissues obtained in vivo.
objectiveTo address the controversy of infection as an aetiology for disc disorders through protein profiling. There is raging controversy over the presence of bacteria in human lumbar discs in vivo, and if they represent contamination or infection. Proteomics can provide valuable insight by identifying proteins signifying bacterial presence and, also host defence response proteins (HDRPs), which will confirm infection.
methods22 discs (15-disc herniations (DH), 5-degenerate (DD), 2-normal in MRI (NM) were harvested intraoperatively and immediately snap frozen. Samples were pooled into three groups and proteins extracted were analysed with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Post identification, data analysis was performed using Uniprotdb, Pantherdb, Proteome discoverer and STRING network. Authentication for bacterial presence was performed by PCR amplification of 16S rDNA.
resultsLC-MS/MS analysis using Orbitrap showed 1103 proteins in DH group, compared to 394 in NM and 564 in DD. 73 bacterial specific proteins were identified (56 specific for Propionibacterium acnes; 17 for Staphylococcus epidermidis). In addition, 67 infection-specific HDRPs, unique or upregulated, such as Defensin, Lysozyme, Dermcidin, Cathepsin-G, Prolactin-Induced Protein, and Phospholipase-A2, were identified confirming presence of infection. Species-specific primers for P. acnes exhibited amplicons at 946 bp (16S rDNA) and 515 bp (Lipase) confirming presence of P. acnes in both NM discs, 11 of 15 DH discs, and all five DD discs. Bioinformatic search for protein-protein interactions (STRING) documented 169 proteins with close interactions (protein clustering co-efficient 0.7) between host response and degenerative proteins implying that infection may initiate degradation through Ubiquitin C.
conclusionOur study demonstrates bacterial specific proteins and host defence proteins to infection which strengthen the hypothesis of infection as a possible initiator of disc disease. These results can lead to a paradigm shift in our understanding and management of disc disorders.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.