Research Progress in Molecular Mechanism of Mitophagy Regulating Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral disc degeneration is a common chronic degenerative joint disease. The pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration is closely related to the dysfunction or loss of nucleus pulposus cells. Mitochondria, as the main sources of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) in nucleus pulposus cells, are essential to maintain the survival and physiological functions of nucleus pulposus cells. Mitophagy was recently discovered to be an important cellular physiological process, which was considered to be a major mechanism of mitochondrial quality control. Cumulative studies have shown that mitophagy plays an important role in both the occurrence and remission of intervertebral disc degeneration. Therefore, by reviewing the literature on mitophagy and intervertebral disc degeneration, this paper explored the possible key roles of signaling molecules such as sirtuins, Parkin, and HIF-1α (hypoxia-inducible factor 1-alpha) in the regulation of intervertebral disc degeneration by mitophagy and summarized the specific regulatory mechanism of mitophagy on intervertebral disc degeneration, providing a reference and basis for the research on potential therapeutic targets for intervertebral disc degeneration.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2023.02.0010