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Integrin expression in cells of the intervertebral disc
Author(s) -
Nettles Dana L.,
Richardson William J.,
Setton Lori A.
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal of anatomy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.932
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1469-7580
pISSN - 0021-8782
DOI - 10.1111/j.0021-8782.2004.00306.x
Subject(s) - integrin , fibronectin , extracellular matrix , laminin , microbiology and biotechnology , intervertebral disc , matrix (chemical analysis) , collagen receptor , biology , cartilage , immunohistochemistry , pathology , chemistry , anatomy , cell , immunology , medicine , biochemistry , chromatography
In this study, we investigated the profile of integrin expression in human and porcine intervertebral disc tissue. Differences in extracellular matrix composition between anulus fibrosus (AF) and nucleus pulposus (NP) regions of the disc, as well as differences in cellular responses to environmental stimuli, suggest a role for integrins in presenting matrix signals that may mediate these responses. Human disc tissue and porcine AF and NP tissue were stained with antibodies to alpha integrin subunits 1–6, V and IIb, and beta integrin subunits 1–6 and graded for evidence of positive staining on a scale from 0 (no staining) to 3 (high incidence of staining). Human tissue expressed α and β integrin subunits shown to be present in articular cartilage, including α 1 , α 5 and α V . Porcine AF tissue expressed similar integrin subunits to human disc, with both expressing α 1 , α 5 , β 1 , β 3 and β 5 subunits, whereas porcine NP tissue expressed higher levels of α 6 , β 1 and β 4 than AF tissue. The expressed subunits are known to interact with proteins including collagens, fibronectin and laminin; however, additional studies will be required to characterize the interactions of the integrin subunits with specific matrix constituents, as well as their specific involvement in regulating environmental stimuli.