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Copyright (c) 2023 Xiao Zhang, Zheng Lv, Chengjian Wei
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The undersigned hereby assign all rights, included but not limited to copyright, for this manuscript to CMB Association upon its submission for consideration to publication on Cellular and Molecular Biology. The rights assigned include, but are not limited to, the sole and exclusive rights to license, sell, subsequently assign, derive, distribute, display and reproduce this manuscript, in whole or in part, in any format, electronic or otherwise, including those in existence at the time this agreement was signed. The authors hereby warrant that they have not granted or assigned, and shall not grant or assign, the aforementioned rights to any other person, firm, organization, or other entity. All rights are automatically restored to authors if this manuscript is not accepted for publication.Hypo-osmolality activates Wnt/β-catenin mediated by AQP1 in nucleus pulposus cells degeneration
Corresponding Author(s) : Chengjian Wei
Cellular and Molecular Biology,
Vol. 70 No. 1: Issue 1
Abstract
The goals of this study were to investigate whether Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays a role in hypo-osmolality-related degeneration of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells, and if so, to define the mechanism underlying AQP1 in this effect. Human NP cells were cultured under hypo-osmotic (300/350/400 mOsm) and iso-osmotic (450 mOsm) conditions. The cell viability, AQP1, the expression of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, collagen II/I, and MMP3/9 were evaluated. To determine the effects of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling, we used the inhibitor and the activator of Wnt during the hypo-osmotic culture of NP cells. We also examined whether the silencing and overexpressing of the AQP1 gene would affect the Wnt/β-catenin expression in NP cells. Hypo-osmolality caused NP cell degeneration and activated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling but suppressed the AQP1 level. Inhibiting the Wnt/β-catenin signaling alleviated the hypo-osmolality-induced NP cell degeneration. On the contrary, activating Wnt/β-catenin aggravated the NP cell degeneration under hypo-osmotic conditions, which did not affect AQP1 expression. AQP1-overexpressed NP cells exhibited decreased Wnt/β-catenin signaling and alleviated cell degeneration under the hypo-osmotic condition. Besides, AQP1 silencing accelerated NP cell degeneration and activated Wnt/β-catenin expression compared with untreated control. Hypo-osmolality promotes NP cell degeneration via activating Wnt/β-catenin signaling, which is suppressed by AQP1 expression. The upregulation of AQP1 suppressed the Wnt/β-catenin signaling and alleviated the hypo-osmolality induced by the NP cell degeneration.
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