Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a main cause of diseases such as discogenic low back pain, cervical and lumbar disc herniation, degenerative spinal stenosis, and lumbar spondylolisthesis. Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), an important transcription factor, regulates antioxidant genes and induces cellular defense mechanisms against oxidative stress. In this study, the protective effect of plant antioxidant lycopene on nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) under oxidative stress was investigated. The results indicated that Nrf2 expression decreased in degenerated NPCs. We further found that lycopene was protective in NP tissue under oxidative stress and alleviated oxidative stress-induced apoptosis of degenerative human NPCs via Nrf2. The results also showed that lycopene reduced H2O2-induced decomposition of cartilage extracellular matrix in NPCs. In conclusion, our findings suggested that lycopene may alleviate disc degeneration under oxidative stress through the Nrf2 signaling pathway.

中文翻译：

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番茄红素通过Nrf2信号通路减轻氧化应激下椎间盘退变。

椎间盘退变（IDD）是引起椎间盘源性下腰痛，颈椎和腰椎间盘突出症，退行性椎管狭窄和腰椎滑脱等疾病的主要原因。核因子红系2相关因子2（Nrf2）是重要的转录因子，可调节抗氧化剂基因并诱导针对氧化应激的细胞防御机制。在这项研究中，研究了植物抗氧化剂番茄红素在氧化应激下对髓核细胞（NPCs）的保护作用。结果表明，在退化的NPCs中Nrf2表达下降。我们进一步发现番茄红素在氧化应激下对NP组织具有保护作用，并通过Nrf2减轻了氧化应激诱导的变性人NPC的凋亡。结果还表明，番茄红素减少了H2O2诱导的NPC中软骨细胞外基质的分解。总之，我们的发现表明番茄红素可以通过Nrf2信号通路减轻氧化应激下的椎间盘退变。