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Endoplasmic reticulum quality control system: a potential target for the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration

SUN Yu¹, LIU En-Xu¹, LI Zhao-Yong¹, DUAN Jia-Hao¹, SUN Fei¹, YANG Lei², YANG Shao-Feng^2,*

¹Graduate School of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China；²Department of Orthopedics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha 410208, China

Abstract

As the largest organelle in eukaryotic cells, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) plays a crucial role in regulating intracellular protein folding, translation and assembly. Multiple quality control mechanisms in the ER ensure accurate modification of proteins in the ER lumen are accurately modified, thus maintaining calcium homeostasis, oxidative stress, cellular senescence and apoptosis. These mechanisms include ER stress (ERS), ER autophagy (ER-phagy, ERPA) and ER-associated degradation (ERAD). Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is an age-related degenerative disease of the spine. Although the pathogenesis of IDD has not been fully elucidated, emerging evidence suggests that the ER quality control system may be involved in its progression. Previous studies have focused on mitochondrial quality control and its related mechanisms in diseases, with limited systematic summaries on the ER quality control system. In this paper, we comprehensively reviewed the molecular mechanisms of the ER quality control system and investigated its association with IDD. In addition, we summarized the potential therapeutic strategies targeting the ER quality control system to attenuate IDD progression, offering new insights into the pathogenesis and regenerative repair strategies of IDD.

Key words: endoplasmic reticulum autophagy; endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation; endoplasmic reticulum stress; intervertebral disc degeneration

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 杨少锋　　E-mail:

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2024.0033

Citing This Article：

SUN Yu, LIU En-Xu, LI Zhao-Yong, DUAN Jia-Hao, SUN Fei, YANG Lei, YANG Shao-Feng. Endoplasmic reticulum quality control system: a potential target for the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration. Acta Physiol Sin 2024; 76 (4): 561-575 (in Chinese with English abstract).