ArticleThe spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society2021
Bone morphogenic protein-2 signaling in human disc degeneration and correlation to the Pfirrmann MRI grading system.
Article in The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Mapping the degenerating intervertebral disc: a systematic review of histological evidence.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Pooled it
- Development and Validation of a Novel Nomogram to Predict the Risk of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration.Mediators of inflammation · 2022Trial
- Epigenetic H3K4me3 activation of miR-155-5p promotes intervertebral disc degeneration via autophagy and ageing in nucleus pulposus cells.Non-coding RNA research · 2026Article
- Mechanosensitive Ion Channel PIEZO1 Suppresses BMP2-Induced Ossification of the Annulus Fibrosus Cells.JOR spine · 2026Article
- Article
- Identification of genes associated with cervical intervertebral disc degeneration and immune cell infiltration.Frontiers in surgery · 2026Article
- Effect of type 2 diabetes mellitus on patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy: a retrospective propensity score-matched cohort study.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 · 2025Article
- Article
- GPT-4 to obtain Pfirrmann grade from lumbar spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) reports.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2024Article
- Dysregulated lipid metabolism and intervertebral disc degeneration: the important role of ox-LDL/LOX-1 in endplate chondrocyte senescence and calcification.Molecular medicine (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2024Article
- Long-term efficacy of Waveflex semi-rigid-dynamic-internal-fixation system in delaying intervertebral disc degeneration at adjacent segments and improving spinal sagittal imbalance.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Roles of organokines in intervertebral disc homeostasis and degeneration.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2024Review
- GREM1, LRPPRC and SLC39A4 as potential biomarkers of intervertebral disc degeneration: a bioinformatics analysis based on multiple microarray and single-cell sequencing data.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2023Article
- Protocol for Biospecimen Collection and Analysis Within the BACPAC Research Program.Pain medicine (Malden, Mass.) · 2023Article
- Ccn2a-FGFR1-SHH signaling is necessary for intervertebral disc homeostasis and regeneration in adult zebrafish.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
background contextBack and neck pain secondary to disc degeneration is a major public health burden. There is a need for therapeutic treatments to restore intervertebral disc (IVD) composition and function. PURPOSE: To quantify ALK3, BMP-2, pSMAD1/5/8 and MMP-13 expression in IVD specimens collected from patients undergoing surgery for disc degeneration, to correlate ALK3, BMP-2, pSMAD1/5/8 and MMP-13 expression in IVD specimens to the 5-level Pfirrmann MRI grading system, and to compare ALK3, BMP-2, pSMAD1/5/8 and MMP-13 expression between cervical and lumbar degenerative disc specimens. STUDY
designAn immunohistochemical study assessing ALK3, BMP-2, pSMAD1/5/8, and MMP-13 expression levels in human control and degenerative IVD specimens.
methodsHuman IVD specimens were collected from surgical patients who underwent discectomy and interbody fusion at our institution between 1/2015 and 8/2017. Each patient underwent MRI prior to surgery. The degree of disc degeneration was measured according to the 5-level Pfirrmann MRI grading system. Patients were categorized into either the 1) control group (Pfirrmann grades I-II) or 2) degenerative group (Pfirrmann grades III-V). Histology slides of the collected IVD specimens were prepared and immunohistochemical staining was performed to assess ALK3, BMP-2, pSMAD1/5/8, and MMP-13 expression levels in the control and degenerative specimens. Expression levels were also correlated to the Pfirrmann criteria. Lastly, the degenerative specimens were stratified according to their vertebral level and expression levels between the degenerative lumbar and cervical discs were compared.
resultsFifty-two patients were enrolled; however, 2 control and 2 degenerative patients were excluded due to incomplete data sets. Of the remaining 48 patients, there were 12 control and 36 degenerative specimens. Degenerative specimens had increased expression levels of BMP-2 (p=.0006) and pSMAD1/5/8 (p<.0001). Pfirrmann grade 3 (p=.0365) and grade 4 (p=.0008) discs had significantly higher BMP-2 expression as compared to grade 2 discs. Pfirrmann grade 4 discs had higher pSMAD1/5/8 expression as compared to grade 2 discs (p<.0001). There were no differences in ALK3 or MMP-13 expression between the control and degenerative discs (p>.05). Stratifying the degenerative specimens according to their vertebral level showed no significant differences in expression levels between the lumbar and cervical discs (p>.05).
conclusionsBMP-2 and pSMAD1/5/8 signaling activity was significantly upregulated in the human degenerative specimens, while ALK3 and MMP-13 expression were not significantly changed. The expression levels of BMP-2 and pSMAD1/5/8 correlate positively with the degree of disc degeneration measured according to the Pfirrmann MRI grading system. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: BMP-SMAD signaling represents a promising therapeutic target to restore IVD composition and function in the setting of disc degeneration.
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