Evaluating The Expression Of DR5 And DcR2 In Human Lumbar Intervertebral Disc

Objective To detect the expression of DR5(TRAIL-R2)and DcR2 (TRAIL-R4)protein and mRNA in human herniated lumbar intervertebral disc(IVD) and normal lumbar IVD.Methods The expression and distribution of DR5 and DcR2 protein were immunostained in 60 herniated lumbar IVD and 22 lumbar IVD normal tissues.In parallel,mRNA of DR5 and DcR2 was quantified by real time fluorescent reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) in 30 herniated lumbar IVD and 9 normal lumbar IVD.Results The DR5 protein positive rates in herniated IVD and normal IVD respectively were 41.60%and 26.09%,There were significant differences between the two groups(P=0.001).Further similar evidence were obtained by quantification of DR5 mRNA(P=-0.025).There was no difference of the expression of DcR2 protein and mRNA between the two groups.Conclusion The current results indicate that disc cells undergo apoptotic cell death via DR5/TRAIL pathway.