Fibrocyte enrichment and myofibroblastic adaptation causes nucleus pulposus fibrosis and associates with disc degeneration severity.

ABSTRACT: Fibrotic remodeling of nucleus pulposus (NP) leads to structural and mechanical anomalies of intervertebral discs that prone to degeneration, leading to low back pain incidence and disability. Emergence of fibroblastic cells in disc degeneration has been reported, yet their nature and origin remain elusive. In this study, we performed an integrative analysis of multiple single-cell RNA sequencing datasets to interrogate the cellular heterogeneity and fibroblast-like entities in degenerative human NP specimens. We found that disc degeneration severity is associated with an enrichment of fibrocyte phenotype, characterized by CD45 and collagen I dual positivity, and expression of myofibroblast marker α-smooth muscle actin. Refined clustering and classification distinguished the fibrocyte-like

SUBMITTER: Sun Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11743603 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature