Correlation study of interleukin-1, matrix metalloproteinase-3, tumor necrosis factor-α with intervertebral disc degeneration

Objective To investigate the effect of interleukin-1 (IL-1),matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3),tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) on intervertebral disc degeneration and the mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration by detecting the expression of IL-1,MMP-3 and TNF-α in intervertebral disc.Methods Forty-five intervertebral disc from intervertebral disc herniation patients were collected as experimental group,15 intervertebral disc of patients with spine fracture were selected as control group.IL-1 、MMP-3 and TNF-α levels were detected by ELISA method,and the results were compared by statistical method.Results The expression levels of IL-I,MMP-3 and TNF-α in experiment group were obviously higher than those in control group,there were significant diferences between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).The expression levels of IL-1,MMP-3 were positively correlated with the expression level of TNF-α (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions IL-1,MMP-3 and TNF-α are involved in the mechanism of intervertebral disc degeneration,and maybe one of the important reasons of intervertebral degeneration. Key words: Intervertebral disc herniation;  Interleukin-1 ;  Matrix metalloproteinase-3 ;  Tumor necrosis factor-α