Thank you for visiting nature. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer. In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript. The depletion of chondroitin sulfates CSs within the intervertebral disc IVD during degenerative disc disease DDD results in a decrease in tissue hydration, a loss of fluid movement, cell apoptosis, a loss of nerve growth inhibition and ultimately, the loss of disc function.
To date, little is known with regards to the structure and content of chondroitin sulfates CSs during IVD ageing.
Here, we showed significant changes in the composition of GAGs during the disc ageing process 6-month-old, 2-year-old and 8-year-old IVDs representing the immature to mature skeleton. A significant decrease in GAGs was observed during the ageing process. CSs are affected at both the structural and quantitative levels with important changes in sulfation observed upon maturity, which correlated with a decrease in the expression of both XT-I and GT-I.
A progressive switch of the sulfation profile was noted in both NP and AF tissues from 6 months to 8 years. These changes give an appreciation of the potential impact of CSs on the disc biology and the development of therapeutic approaches for disc regeneration and repair.
Nevertheless, IVD degeneration occurs irrespective of the ageing process because of external factors for example, environmental and genetic factors. Both the degeneration and ageing of the disc are characterized by an important catabolism of the IVD extracellular matrix ECM , resulting in the loss of mechanical function. This phenomenon leads to the formation of an aggrecan molecule with fewer and shorter CS chains and more KS chains. It has been shown that cell behavior in many tissues is not only affected by the structure of CSs but also by changes in their sulfation pattern.
