0000000000589711
AUTHOR
Eeva Kääpä
Collagens in the injured porcine intervertebral disc
Spinal pain often is thought to be due to degeneration and mechanical failure of the intervertebral disc. Since the mechanical strength of the tissue depends on collagen fibers, the present study was designed to investigate the reactions in collagen metabolism after an experimentally induced disc injury. Five domestic pigs underwent an incision in the anterior part of the annulus fibrosus of disc L4-L5 through a retroperitoneal approach. The animals were killed 3 months postoperatively, and the injured discs and intact discs (controls) from different animals were removed for chemical analysis. Slices were cut from seven different parts across the disc. The concentration of total collagen (h…
Elevated Protein Content and Prolyl 4-Hydroxylase Activity in Severely Degenerated Human Annulus Fibrosus
Alterations involved with the intervertebral disc degeneration are partly well described, however, it is not so well known how collagen network is affected by the disease. We analyzed the rate of collagen biosynthesis (estimated by the enzymic activities of prolyl 4-hydroxylase and galactosylhydroxylysyl glucosyltransferase) and the level of hydroxylysylpyridinoline and lysylpyridinoline crosslinks both in normal (n=7) and degenerated (n=7) human annulus fibrosus. The activity of prolyl 4-hydroxylase was significantly increased in degenerated tissue. However, no significant changes in the collagen content or in the amount of hydroxylysylpyridinoline and lysylpyridinoline collagen crosslinks…