Osteoclast activators are elevated in intervertebral disks with Modic changes among patients operated for herniated...

Modic changes (MC) are associated with low back pain (LBP). Inflammation is considered as a key factor that triggers symptoms in especially type I MC, but so far of the potential inflammatory candidates only TNFα has been linked to MC. The objective of the study was to analyze a set of inflammatory mediators in human surgical disk samples and quantify their association with MC in the adjacent vertebral bodies.

The study sample consisted of 51 intervertebral disk tissue specimens; 20 'No MC' disks, 19 'Type I MC' disks, and 12 'Type II MC' disks. mRNA expression of 46 cytokines was quantified from isolated RNA. Tissue samples were stained using hematoxylin and eosin, toluidine blue, Herovici, CD68 and CD163.

No significant differences were found in the amount of macrophages or presence of chondrocyte conglomerates between the MC groups. Of the multiple genes tested, statistically significant associations were observed for M-CSF1 (p = 0.028), RANKL (p = 0.035), RUNX1 (p = 0.032), and RUNX2 (p = 0.047) that were increased in 'Type II MC,' while OSCAR (p = 0.042) was increased in 'Type I MC' group compared to 'No MC.'

Since these cytokines are related to differentiation and proliferation of osteoclasts, our data suggest that the stimulation of vertebral osteoclasts by factors secreted by disk tissue is involved in the pathophysiology of MC.