[Inflammatory-inducing effect of lumbar disc tissue: an experimental study].

OBJECTIVE: To study whether herniated or degenerative lumbar disc tissues have the potentials to produce or induce peripheral blood white cells to produce inflammatory mediator phospholipase A2 (PLA2), and to find the effective inhibitors of PLA2. METHODS: Ten specimens of lumbar discs were obtained when patients were performed operations. The peripheral blood samples were drawn out from the same ten patients (7 ml per patient). Mononuclear white cells were separated from each peripheral blood sample. Then, cell culture was performed according to the following combinations: Group 1 was mononuclearcytes; Group 2 was disc tissue; Group 3 was devitalized disc tissue + mononuclearcytes; Group 4 was devitalized disc + mononuclearcytes + dexamethasone; Group 5 was devitalized disc + mononuclearcytes + artemisinin. The activity of PLA2 was detected at last. RESULTS: Compared with Group 3, other groups had a significant difference, (P < 0.01). Group 5 compared with Group 4 had no significant difference (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: 1. Some components in disc tissue can induce mononuclearcytes to produce high activity of PLA2 which is an inflammatory mediator very possible to cause back pain and radiculopathy in lumbar disc herniation. 2. Artemisinin has similar effectiveness to dexamethasone to inhibit the production of PLA2 in vitro.