The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of using the expression profile of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β-1-3) to assess the progression of L/S spine degenerative disease. The study group consisted of 113 lumbosacral (L/S) intervertebral disc (IVD) degenerative disease patients from whom IVDs were collected during a microdiscectomy, whereas the control group consisted of 81 participants from whom IVDs were collected during a forensic autopsy or organ harvesting. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to exclude degenerative changes in the IVDs collected from the control group. The molecular analysis consisted of reverse-transcription real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blotting, and an immunohistochemical analysis (IHC). In degenerated IVDs, we noted an overexpression of all TGF-β-1-3 mRNA isoforms with the largest changes observed for TGF-β3 isoforms (fold change (FC) = 19.52 ± 2.87) and the smallest for TGF-β2 (FC = 2.26 ± 0.16). Changes in the transcriptional activity of TGF-β-1-3 were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Significantly higher concentrations of TGF-β1 (2797 ± 132 pg/mL vs. 276 ± 19 pg/mL; p < 0.05), TGF-β2 (1918 ± 176 pg/mL vs. 159 ± 17 pg/mL; p < 0.05), and TGF-β3 (2573 ± 102 pg/mL vs. 152 ± 11 pg/mL) were observed in degenerative IVDs compared with the control samples. Determining the concentration profiles of TGF-β1-3 appears to be a promising monitoring tool for the progression of degenerative disease as well as for evaluating its treatment or developing new treatment strategies with molecular targets.

Chair and Department of Biopharmacy Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Sosnowiec Medical University of Silesia Katowice 41 200 Sosnowiec Poland

Collegium Medicum WSB University 41 300 Dabrowa Gornicza Poland

Department of Forensic Medicine Jagiellonian University Medical College 31 531 Cracow Poland

Department of Molecular Biology Gyncentrum Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Virology 40 851 Katowice Poland

Department of Neurosurgery 5th Military Clinical Hospital with the SP ZOZ Polyclinic in Krakow 30 901 Cracow Poland

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty of Medicine in Zabrze Academy of Silesia 40 555 Katowice Poland

Department of Neurosurgery Szpital sw Rafala in Cracow 30 693 Cracow Poland

Department of Rehabilitation in Orthopaedics Faculty of Motor Rehabilitation Bronisław Czech University of Physical Education 31 571 Krakow Poland

Institute of Health Care National Academy of Applied Sciences in Przemyśl 37 700 Przemyśl Poland

New Medical Techniques Specjalist Hospital of St Family in Rudna Mała 36 060 Rzeszów Poland

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