Differentially expressed galectin-1 during intervertebral disc degeneration

doi:10.12307/2023.954

Abstract

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Galectin-1 is involved in the physiological and pathological processes of many tissues and organs, but its relationship with intervertebral disc degeneration remains unclear.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the differential expression of galectin-1 in intervertebral discs and to investigate the effect of galectin-1 on intervertebral disc degeneration in rats.
METHODS: Intervertebral disc specimens were collected from 15 patients in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University. Pfirrmann grading was used to definite the degree of degeneration, and the differential expression of galectin-1 in intervertebral discs with different degrees of degeneration was detected. A lumbar degeneration model was established in Sprague-Dawley rats. The model rats were randomly divided into control group, model group and galectin-1 group. Interventions were carried out on alternate days after modeling. Control and model groups were given normal saline injection into the tail vein, while galectin-1 recombinant protein was injected into the tail vein of the galectin-1 group once a day for 7 days. Eight weeks after modeling, pathological changes in the intervertebral disc were observed after Pfirrmann grading using Bruker Pharmascan 7.0T MRI and the expression of galectin-1, type II collagen and Aggrecan in the disc was examined.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: qRT-PCR, immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis indicated that galectin-1 expression decreased gradually with the aggravation of intervertebral disc degeneration, and there were significant differences among three groups (P < 0.05). At 8 weeks after modeling, MRI scan of the rat lumbar vertebra results indicated that galectin-1 could reduce the modified Pfirrmann grade of intervertebral disc degeneration, and hematoxylin-eosin staining suggested that galectin-1 could reduce the pathological manifestations of intervertebral disc degeneration. Immunohistochemistry and western blot results suggested that intervention with galectin-1 could increase the expression of galectin-1 in the intervertebral discs while reducing the degradation of type II collagen and Aggrecan, and there were significant differences among groups (P < 0.05). To conclude, the expression of galectin-1 gradually decreases with the aggravation of intervertebral disc degeneration, and the intervention with galectin-1 delays the progression of intervertebral disc degeneration in rats.

Key words: galectin-1, intervertebral disc, degeneration, differential expression, type II collagen, Aggrecan

CLC Number:

Liang Weidong, Zhang Shuwen, Cai Xiaoyu, Xun Chuanhui, Sheng Jun, Cao Rui, Hao Honggang, Sheng Weibin. Differentially expressed galectin-1 during intervertebral disc degeneration[J]. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research, 2023, 27(35): 5610-5615.

Figures/Tables 8

References

[1] CLOUET J, FUSELLIER M, CAMUS A, et al. Intervertebral disc regeneration: From cell therapy to the development of novel bioinspired endogenous repair strategies. Adv Drug Deliv Rev. 2019;146:306-324.
[2] HENRY N, CLOUET J, LE BIDEAU J, et al. Innovative strategies for intervertebral disc regenerative medicine: From cell therapies to multiscale delivery systems. Biotechnol Adv. 2018;36(1):281-294.
[3] SAMPARA P, BANALA RR, VEMURI SK, et al. Understanding the molecular biology of intervertebral disc degeneration and potential gene therapy strategies for regeneration: a review. Gene Ther. 2018;25(2):67-82.
[4] VAN UDEN S, SILVA-CORREIA J, OLIVEIRA JM, et al. Current strategies for treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration:substitution and regeneration possibilities. Biomater Res. 2017;21:22.
[5] CHOU FC, CHEN HY, KUO CC, et al. Role of Galectins in Tumors and in Clinical Immunotherapy. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;19(2):430.
[6] SEROPIAN IM, GONZÁLEZ GE, MALLER SM, et al. Galectin-1 as an Emerging Mediator of Cardiovascular Inflammation: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities. Mediators Inflamm. 2018;2018:8696543.
[7] ITO K, STANNARD K, GABUTERO E, et al. Galectin-1 as a potent target for cancer therapy: role in the tumor microenvironment. Cancer Metastasis Rev. 2012;31(3-4):763-778.
[8] BLANCHARD H, BUM-ERDENE K, BOHARI MH, et al. Galectin-1 inhibitors and their potential therapeutic applications: a patent review. Expert Opin Ther Pat. 2016;26(5):537-554.
[9] JING L, SO S, LIM SW, et al. Differential expression of galectin-1 and its interactions with cells and laminins in the intervertebral disc. J Orthop Res. 2012;30(12): 1923-1931.
[10] MURPHY J, MCLOUGHLIN E, DAVIES AM, et al. Is T9-11 the true thoracolumbar transition zone? J Clin Orthop Trauma. 2020;11(5):891-895.
[11] HAN B, ZHU K, LI FC, et al. A simple disc degeneration model induced by percutaneous needle puncture in the rat tail. Spine (Phila Pa 1976). 2008;33(1):1925-1934.
[12] VERGROESEN PP, KINGMA I, EMANUEL KS, et al. Mechanics and biology in intervertebral disc degeneration: a vicious circle. Osteoarthritis Cartilage. 2015; 23(7):1057-1070.
[13] KADOW T, SOWA G, VO N, et al. Molecular basis of intervertebral disc degeneration and herniations: what are the important translational questions? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473(6):1903-1912.
[14] MARSICH E, MOZETIC P, ORTOLANI F, et al. Galectin-1 in cartilage: expression, influence on chondrocyte growth and interaction with ECM components. Matrix Biol. 2008;27:513-525.
[15] SUNDBLAD V, MOROSI LG, GEFFNER JR, et al. Galectin-1: A Jack-of-All-Trades in the Resolution of Acute and Chronic Inflammation. J Immunol. 2017;199(11): 3721-3730.
[16] BATZKE K, BÜCHEL G, HANSEN W, et al. TrkB-Target Galectin-1 Impairs Immune Activation and Radiation Responses in Neuroblastoma: Implications for Tumour Therapy. Int J Mol Sci. 2018;19(3):718.
[17] WILLEMS N, TELLEGEN AR, BERGKNUT N, et al. Inflammatory profiles in canine intervertebral disc degeneration. BMC Vet Res. 2016;12:10.
[18] GU SX, LI X, HAMILTON JL, et al. MicroRNA-146a reduces IL-1 dependent inflammatory responses in the intervertebral disc. Gene. 2015;555(2):80-87.
[19] AL-OBAIDI N, MOHAN S, LIANG S, et al. Galectin-1 is a new fibrosis protein in type 1 and type 2 diabetes. FASEB J. 2019;33(1):373-387.
[20] PEINTNER L, VENKATRAMAN A, WAELDIN A, et al. Loss of PKD1/polycystin-1 impairs lysosomal activity in a CAPN (calpain)-dependent manner. Autophagy. 2021;17(9):2384-2400.
[21] MAEDA N, KAWADA N, SEKI S, et al. Stimulation of proliferation of rat hepatic stellate cells by galectin-1 and galectin-3 through different intracellular signaling pathways. J Biol Chem. 2003;278(21):18938-18944.