Abstract
We performed a proteomic analysis of human intervertebral discs to elucidate molecules that could be effective targets for the prevention and treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. We obtained intervertebral discs from cases of degenerative spondylolisthesis (6 samples), lumbar disc herniation (7 samples), and autopsy specimens (5 samples), and prepared the respective protein extracts. To remove collagens and proteoglycans, which account for most of the proteins, we eliminated proteins > 100 kDa from the protein extracts using an ultra-filter, and the remaining fractions were subjected to LC-MS/MS using an ABI QSTAR. After comparing the protein profiles between these three groups, several disease-specific proteins were found: activation of complement was related to degenerative spondylolisthesis, and KRT3 was related to lumbar disc herniation. TTR was commonly related to both diseases. Thus, proteomic analysis of human intervertebral discs was possible using LC-MS/MS. Protein expression profiles that are characteristic of these diseases were elucidated. These results suggest novel potential target molecules for the prevention and treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration.
