• Zhengang Sun, Xinfeng Zheng, Songbo Li, Baozhu Zeng, Jiaming Yang, Zemin Ling, Xizhe Liu, and Fuxin Wei.
• Department of Spine Surgery, Qingdao West Coast New Area Central Hospital of Binzhou Medical College, Qingdao, China.
• Spine. 2022 Mar 1; 47 (5): E203E213E203-E213.

Study DesignIn vitro experimental study.ObjectiveTo establish an axial impact injury model of intervertebral disc (IVD) and to investigate if a single impact injury without endplate structural disruption could initiate intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), and what is the roles of Piezo1 in this process.Summary Of Background DataAlthough IDD process has been confirmed to be associated with structural failures such as endplate fractures, whether a single impact injury of the endplates without structural disruption could initiate IDD remains controversial. Previous studies reported that Piezo1 mediated inflammation participated in the progression of IDD induced by mechanical stretch; however, the roles of Piezo1 in IVD impact injury remain unknown.MethodsRats spinal segments were randomly assigned into Control, Low, and High Impact groups, which were subjected to pure axial impact loading using a custom-made apparatus, and cultured for 14 days. The degenerative process was investigated by using histomorphology, real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR), western-blot, immunofluorescence, and energy metabolism of IVD cell. The effects of Piezo1 were investigated by using siRNA transfection, real-time PCR, western-blot, and immunofluorescence.ResultsThe discs in both of the impact groups presented degenerative changes after 14 days, which showed significant up-regulation of Piezo1, NLRP3 inflammasome, the catabolic (MMP-9, MMP-13), and pro-inflammatory gene (IL-1β) expression than that of the control group (P < 0.05), accompanied by significantly increased release of ATP, lactate, nitric oxide (NO), and glucose consumption of IVD cells at first 7 days. Silencing Piezo1 reduced the activation of NLRP3 inflammasome and IL-1β expression in the nucleus pulposus induced by impact injury.ConclusionIt demonstrated that not only fracture of the endplate but also a single impact injury without structural impairment could also initiate IDD, which might be mediated by activation of Piezo1 induced inflammation and abnormal energy metabolism of IVD cells.Level of Evidence: N/A.Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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