This study was conducted in order to investigate the function of IL-21 in intervertebral disc degeneration. The serum concentration of IL-21 in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) was examined by ELISA. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis were performed to detect the expression of IL-21, a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs (ADAMTS-7), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in degenerated intervertebral disc (IVD) tissues of human and rat. Moreover, nucleus pulposus (NP) cells were treated with 0, 10, 100, and 1000 ng/mL of IL-21 cytokine with and without AG490. TNF-α, ADAMTS-7, and matrix metalloproteinases-13 (MMP-13) mRNA expression was determined by RT-PCR. The expression of signal transducers and activators of transcription, STAT-1, STAT-3, and STAT-5b, was detected by western blot. IL-21 concentration level is higher in the degenerated group and positively correlates with the visual analog score (VAS). IL-21, ADAMTS-7, and TNF-α can be detected in the degenerative NP tissues in both human and rat degenerated NP tissues. The mRNA expression of ADAMTS-7, TNF-α, and MMP-13 was enhanced after stimulation with IL-21. Compared to control, STAT-1, STAT-3, and STAT-5b expression was also enhanced after IL-21 treatment, with STAT-3 being the most significantly enhanced; furthermore, expression was significantly reduced after treatment with AG490. The mRNA expression of TNF-α was markedly reduced after treatment with AG490 compared to treatment with IL-21 only. IL-21 is involved in the pathological development of IVD degeneration and IL-21 could aggravate IVD degeneration by stimulating TNF-α through the STAT signaling pathway.
Keywords: ADAMTS-7; IL-21; STAT; TNF-α; inflammation; lumbar disc herniation.