Autor(es): Novais, Emanuel J. ; Ottone, Olivia K. ; Brown, Eric V. ; Madhu, Vedavathi ; Tran, Victoria A. ; Ramteke, Pranay ; Dighe, Abhijit S. ; Solga, Michael D. ; Manchel, Alexandra ; Lepore, Angelo C. ; Risbud, Makarand V.
Data: 2025
Identificador Persistente: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/54555
Origem: Veritati - Repositório Institucional da Universidade Católica Portuguesa
There are no appropriate mouse models to study the pathophysiology of spontaneous disc herniations in a wild-type setting. SM/J mice, a poor healer inbred strain, presented a high incidence of age-associated lumbar disc herniations with neurovascular innervations. Transcriptomic comparisons of the SM/J annulus fibrosus with human tissues showed shared pathways related to immune cell activation and inflammation. Notably, aged SM/J mice showed increased pain sensitization and neuroinflammation with altered extracellular matrix regulation in the dorsal root ganglia and spinal cord. There were increased T cells in the vertebral marrow, and cytometry by time-of-flight analysis showed increased splenic CD8+ T cells, nonspecific activation of CD8+ memory T cells, and enhanced interferon-γ production in the myeloid compartment. Single-cell RNA sequencing of peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed more B cells, with lower proportions of T cells, monocytes, and granulocytes. This study highlights the contribution of genetic background and aging to increased susceptibility of spontaneous intervertebral disc herniations in a clinically relevant murine model.
