Spine
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Comparative Study
Region-dependent aggrecan degradation patterns in the rat intervertebral disc are affected by mechanical loading in vivo.
Immunoblotting study to evaluate aggrecan degradation patterns in rat intervertebral discs (IVDs) subjected to mechanical overload. ⋯ Aggrecan G1 regions resulting from proteolysis were found to have a strong regionally specific pattern in the rat IVD, which was altered under excessive loading. The shift from aggrecanase to MMP-induced degradation products with dynamic compression overloading suggests that protein degradation and loss can precede major structural disruption in the IVD, and that MMP-induced aggrecan degradation may be a marker of mechanically induced disc degeneration.