Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32992671›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of molecular sciences2020

Regenerative Response of Degenerate Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells to GDF6 Stimulation.

Tom Hodgkinson, Hamish T J Gilbert, Tej Pandya, Ashish D Diwan, Judith A Hoyland, Stephen M Richardson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of molecular sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
1.2field-weighted citation impact, top 22% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Computational and structural biotechnology journal · 2025
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Tom HodgkinsonDivision of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-3242-1593
Hamish T J GilbertDivision of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-2571-765X
Tej PandyaDivision of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1816-1211
Ashish D DiwanSt George & Sutherland Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2217, Australia.
Judith A HoylandDivision of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-4876-5208
Stephen M RichardsonDivision of Cell Matrix Biology and Regenerative Medicine, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-7637-4135
Manchester Academic Health Science Centre · GBSutherland Hospital · AU

Funding

Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council MR/K026682/1Medical Research Council MC_PC_14112Medical Research Council MC_PC_14112 v.2Medical Research Council MR/K026682/1
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Growth differentiation factor (GDF) family members have been implicated in the development and maintenance of healthy nucleus pulposus (NP) tissue, making them promising therapeutic candidates for treatment of intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration and associated back pain. GDF6 has been shown to promote discogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells, but its effect on NP cells remains largely unknown. Our aim was to investigate GDF6 signalling in adult human NP cells derived from degenerate tissue and determine the signal transduction pathways critical for GDF6-mediated phenotypic changes and tissue homeostatic mechanisms. This study demonstrates maintained expression of GDF6 receptors in human NP and annulus fibrosus (AF) cells across a range of degeneration grades at gene and protein level. We observed an anabolic response in NP cells treated with recombinant GDF6 (increased expression of matrix and NP-phenotypic markers; increased glycosaminoglycan production; no change in catabolic enzyme expression), and identified the signalling pathways involved in these responses (SMAD1/5/8 and ERK1/2 phosphorylation, validated by blocking studies). These findings suggest that GDF6 promotes a healthy disc tissue phenotype in degenerate NP cells through SMAD-dependent and -independent (ERK1/2) mechanisms, which is important for development of GDF6 therapeutic strategies for treatment of degenerate discs.

Indexed as

Nucleus PulposusAdultFemaleGrowth Differentiation Factor 6HumansIntervertebral Disc DegenerationMAP Kinase Signaling SystemRegenerationSmad ProteinsGDF6 protein, humanGrowth Differentiation Factor 6Smad Proteinsgrowth differentiation factor 6growth factor signallingintervertebral disc degenerationnucleus pulposusregenerative medicine

Identifiers

PMID32992671
PMCPMC7582366
OpenAlexW3088429983

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.