• Hui Lin, Xuan Ma, Bai-Chuan Wang, Lei Zhao, Jian-Xiang Liu, Fei-Fei Pu, Yi-Qiang Hu, Hong-Zhi Hu, and Zeng-Wu Shao.
• Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China.
• Life Sci. 2017 Nov 15; 189: 76-83.

AimsEdaravone is a strong free radical scavenger most used for treating acute ischemic stroke. In this study we investigated the protective effects and underlying mechanisms of edaravone on compression-induced damage in rat nucleus pulposus (NP) cells.Materials And MethodsCell viability was determined using MTT assay methods. NP cell apoptosis was measured by Hoechst 33,258 staining and Annexin V/PI double staining. Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) were determined by fluorescent probes DCFH-DA, JC-1 and Fluo-3/AM, respectively. Apoptosis-related proteins (cleaved caspase-3, cytosolic cytochrome c, Bax and Bcl-2) and extracellular matrix proteins (aggrecan and collagen II) were analyzed by western blot.Key FindingsEdaravone attenuated the compression-induced decrease in viability of NP cells in a dose-dependent manner. 33,258 and Annexin V/PI double staining showed that edaravone protected NP cells from compression-induced apoptosis. Further studies confirmed that edaravone protected NP cells against compression-induced mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis by inhibiting overproduction of ROS, collapse of MMP and overload of [Ca2+]i. In addition, edaravone promoted the expression of aggrecan and collagen II in compression-treated NP cells.SignificanceThese results strongly indicate that edaravone ameliorates compression-induced damage in rat nucleus pulposus cells. Edaravone could be a potential new drug for treatment of IDD.Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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