Cathepsin L与MMP-3在兔椎间盘退变中相关性研究

Study on the correlation between Cathepsin L and MMP-3 in the pathomechanism of rabbit's disc degeneration

目的:探讨组织蛋白酶L(Cathepsin L)与基质金属蛋白酶-3(MMP-3)在兔椎间盘退变中的相关性。方法:健康大白兔60只随机分为实验组、阴性对照组、空白对照组,实验组分为三个亚组,椎间盘内注射3种不同浓度的Cathepsin L,阴性对照组中在椎间盘内注射生理盐水,空白对照组不做任何处理。采用HE染色组织学观察椎间盘的退变特征,免疫组织化学S-P法检测椎间盘组织中MMP-3的表达。结果:HE染色组织学观察6周时在实验组椎间盘中,组织学观察到不同程度的椎间盘退变特征:髄核脊索细胞逐渐减少,并逐渐被纤维软骨组织替代,纤维环与髄核之间失去明显的界限。免疫组织化学染色结果,3周、6周时实验组MMP-3的阳性率均高于空白对照组及阴性对照组(P<0.05)。结论:Cathepsin L与MMP-3共同参与了兔椎间盘的退变,CathepsinL可能促进MMP-3在椎间盘内的生成,从而导致椎间盘的退变。

Objective：To study the correlation between Cathepsin L and MMP-3 in the pathomechanism of rabbit＇s disc degeneration. Methods：60 white rabbits were divided into 3 groups：experimental group negative control group and blank control group,experimental group consisted of 3 subgroup,each group had 12 rabbits. The operation was carried out in right retroperitoneal approach. The Cathepsin L was injected into L3 and L4 disc for experimental group,while 0.9%NaCL was injected for negative control group. Histological observation and immunohistochemical（S-P method） analyses for L3 discs at the 3th,the 6th week after surgery were measured respectively. Results：Histologic observation revealed progressive decrease of notochordal cells in nucleus pulposus（NP） which was increasingly occupied by disorganized,hypocellular fibrocartilaginous tissue,and there was general loss of definition between the NP and annulus fibrosus（AF） at the 6th week. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that expression of MMP-3 in all experimental groups is obviously higher than in all control（P〈0.05） at the 3th week and the 6th the week. Conclusion：Cathepsin L and MMP-3 might play an important role in the pathogenesis of disc degeneration. Cathepsin L might and MMP-3. The change of the expression of MMP-3 is earlier than the change of rabbit＇s disc degeneration. The results suggest that the interaction between Cathepsin-L and MMP-3 play an important role in early stage of the disc degeneration.