Inhibitory activity of CXCR4 attenuates intervertebral disc degeneration by regulating TXNIP/NLRP3 expression

Purpose: To explore the inhibitory effect and mechanism of action of CXCR4 on intervertebral disc degeneration.Methods: The expression of CXCR4 was assessed in different degrees of degenerate disc tissues. Nucleus pulposus (NP) cells-induced degeneration were obtained using interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) stimulation. CXCR4 inhibitor, AMD 3100, was employed to resist the function of CXCR4, in order to determine whether CXCR4 inhibition acted by targeting TXNIP/NLRP3 axis.Results: Expression of CXCR4 increased in severely degenerated disc tissues. IL-1β activated and promoted the progression of intervertebral disc degeneration, but AMD3100 treatment reversed the effects of IL-1β. Moreover, TXNIP and NLRP3 were significantly suppressed by AMD3100 stimuli.Conclusion: The results demonstrate that inhibition of CXCR4 prevents NP cells from degradation by regulating TXNIP/NLRP3 signaling pathway, thus indicating that this approach could be effective in the management of intervertebral disc degeneration.