{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T14:59:49Z","timestamp":1785423589765,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":50,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775692800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1775692800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Mol Pain"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,5]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a major cause of chronic low back pain and disability worldwide. Growing evidence highlights oxidative stress as a key driver of disc degeneration; however, the integrated relationships between gene expression, regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs), and protein-level changes across disease stages remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to identify oxidative stress-related molecular signatures in IVDD and to explore their miRNA-mediated regulation across degeneration grades. The study included 200 patients with lumbosacral IVDD undergoing microdiscectomy and 100 postmortem control samples without spinal pathology. Degeneration severity was classified using the Pfirrmann scale, and pain intensity was assessed with the Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Gene expression of oxidative stress markers was evaluated using RT-qPCR, while protein levels were quantified by ELISA. Additionally, bioinformatic prediction and RT-qPCR validation were used to analyze mRNA\u2013miRNA interactions. Gene expression analysis revealed progressive downregulation of antioxidant genes\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">CAT<\/jats:italic>\n                    (FC \u2248 \u22126.40) and\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">GPX1<\/jats:italic>\n                    (FC \u2248 \u22129.56), alongside upregulation of\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">MAPK8<\/jats:italic>\n                    (FC \u2248 8.18) and\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">IL6<\/jats:italic>\n                    (FC \u2248 8.18), with a moderate increase in\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">NRF1<\/jats:italic>\n                    expression. These values reflect comparisons between advanced degeneration (G5) and controls. In contrast, protein analysis showed an inverse trend, with increasing levels of CAT, GPX1, and NRF1 and decreasing levels of MAPK8 and IL6 as degeneration progressed. miRNA profiling demonstrated significant dysregulation, including downregulation of miR-3163 and miR-196a-1-3p and upregulation of miR-665-3p and miR-4686. Correlation analysis indicated that molecular alterations were more strongly associated with structural degeneration than with pain intensity, as VAS-related differences were generally weak and non-significant. Overall, the results reveal a complex regulatory network in IVDD, characterized by discordant mRNA\u2013protein expression and significant miRNA involvement. Oxidative stress and inflammatory pathways appear tightly regulated at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels and are more closely linked to structural degeneration than clinical pain.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/17448069261444495","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T12:13:40Z","timestamp":1775736820000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Redox-associated gene and microRNA signatures in degenerative intervertebral disc disease"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"22","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-2324-3039","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Damian","family":"Strojny","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Collegium Medicum, WSB University, Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Neurology, New Medical Techniques Specialist Hospital of St. Family, Rudna Mala, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Karol","family":"Szwej","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Collegium Medicum, WSB University, Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0781-6534","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rafa\u0142","family":"Staszkiewicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Collegium Medicum, WSB University, Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, 5th Military Clinical Hospital with the SP ZOZ Polyclinic, Krakow, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine in Zabrze, Academy of Silesia, Katowice, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5525-6201","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dawid","family":"Soba\u0144ski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Collegium Medicum, WSB University, Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Szpital sw. Rafala, Cracow, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-2745-1957","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pawe\u0142","family":"Gogol","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"NEUROLOCUS Pain Treatment Center, Warsaw, Poland"},{"name":"Department of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care, Hospital of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Wolomin, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"M\u00e1ria","family":"Lehotsk\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Catholic University, Ru\u017eomberok, Slovensko"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bozena","family":"Majchrowicz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Psychology, Collegium Medicum, Institute of Nursing, Rzesz\u00f3w University, Rzesz\u00f3w, Poland"},{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences and Psychology, Collegium Medicum, University Center for Research and Development in Health Sciences, Rzesz\u00f3w University, Rzesz\u00f3w, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1633-7145","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Beniamin Oskar","family":"Grabarek","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Collegium Medicum, WSB University, Dabrowa Gornicza, Poland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.wneu.2021.09.066"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/978-3-030-20925-4_14"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00441-022-03662-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms23031715"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1039\/D2BM01862D"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1097\/00007632-200109010-00011"},{"issue":"3","key":"e_1_3_2_8_2","first-page":"3","article-title":"Assessment of lumbar spine disc degeneration in coherence to Pfirrman grades and oswestry disability index","volume":"10","author":"Hasanovi\u0107-Vu\u010dkovi\u0107 S","year":"2020","unstructured":"Hasanovi\u0107-Vu\u010dkovi\u0107 S, Jusufbegovi\u0107 M, Vegar-Zubovi\u0107 S, Mili\u0161i\u0107 L, \u0160ehi\u0107 A, Hasanbegovi\u0107 I, et al. 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The expression of cytokine and its significance for the intervertebral disks of Kazakhs. 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