Aquaporin-1 and Aquaporin-3 Expressions in the Intervertebral Disc of Rats with Aging

Abstract

Objective: The intervertebral disc (IVD) undergoes biochemical and morphologic degenerative changes during the process of aging. Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of water channel proteins that facilitate water and small solute movement in tissues and may have a potential role in the aging degeneration of IVDs. One of the important problems in understanding disc degeneration is to find cellular molecules which contribute to the pathogenesis of IVDs. XThe aim of this study was to demonstrate the expression of aquaporin 1 and 3 in nucleus pulposus (NP), annulus fibrosus (AF) cells of rat lumbar intervertebral discs from both young and aged animals using immunohistochemistry. Material and Methods: Twenty Wistar-albino rats were included in the study. The rats were separated into two groups: 2-month-old rats (n=10) as the young group, 18-month-old rats (n=10) as the old group. The intervertebral disc tissues obtained from the lumbar spine (L1–L4, 4 discs) were used for immunohistochemical staining of AQP-1 and 3. Results: This study demonstrated that AQP-1 and AQP-3 immunoreactivity significantly decreased in NP and AF of aged rats compared to the young rats. Conclusion: We suggest that AQP-1 and 3 may contribute to the age related degeneration of the intervertebral disc. Turkish Başlık: Sıçanlarda yaşlanmayla intervertebral diskte aquaporin-1 ve aquaporin-3 ekspresyonu Amaç: İntervertebral disk (IVD) yaşlanma süreciyle biyokimyasal ve morfolojik değişikliklere uğrar. Aquaporinler (AQP) dokuda suyun ve erimiş küçük moleküllerin hareketini kolaylaştıran bir su kanalı proteini ailesidir ve IVD'in yaşlanmayla dejerasyonunda potansiyel bir role sahip olabilir. Disk dejenerasyonunu anlamakta en önemli sorunlardan biri IVD patogenezine katkıda bulunan hücresel molekülleri bulmaktır. Bu çalışmanın amacı genç ve yaşlı sıçan IVD'lerinde nukleus pulposus (NP) ve annulus fibrosus (AF) hücrelerinde AQP 1 ve 3 ekspresyonlarını immunohistokimya kullanarak göstermekti. Yöntemler ve Gereç: Çalışmada 20 Wistar-albino sıçanı kullanıldı. Sıçanlar iki gruba ayrıldı: 2 aylık sıçanlar (n=10) genç grubu, 18 aylık sıçanlar (n=10) yaşlı grubu oluşturdu. AQP -1 ve 3'ün immunohistokimyasal boyaması için lomber omurgadan (L1-L4, 4 disk) IVD dokuları elde edildi. Bulgular: Çalışmada gençlere kıyasla yaşlı sıçanların NP ve AF'larında AQP-1 ve AQP-3 immunoreaktivitesi belirgin şeklide azalmış bulundu. SONUÇ: AQP-1 ve 3'ün IVD'in yaşla gelişen dejenerasyonuna katkıda bulunabileceğini düşünmekteyiz.

Keywords

• Intervertebral disc, aquaporin 1 and aquaporin 3, immunohistochemistry, aging, rat

Aquaporin-1 and Aquaporin-3 Expressions in the Intervertebral Disc of Rats with Aging

Öz

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