New Findings on Pyroptosis Described by Investigators at Ganzhou People's Hospital (Silencing Ddx3 Attenuates Interleukin-1b-induced Intervertebral Disc Degeneration Through Inhibiting Pyroptosis).

Researchers at Ganzhou People's Hospital in Jiangxi, People's Republic of China, have conducted a study on intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) and its association with chronic inflammation and cell death. They created an IVDD rat model using Interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) injection and assessed the degeneration of intervertebral disc tissues using various techniques. The study identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the IVDD model and control rats and found that silencing the DEAD-box polypeptide 3 (DDX3) gene promoted cell proliferation and inhibited IL-1 beta-induced cell apoptosis and pyroptosis. The findings suggest that DDX3 may be a potential target for IVDD management. [Extracted from the article]