{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T21:03:33Z","timestamp":1792789413444,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"18","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789516800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Xinhua Hospital","award":["C2025G021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["C2025G021"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04dzvks42","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["C2025G021"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["C2025G021"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/04dzvks42","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Shanghai Sailing Program","award":["23YF1425900"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["23YF1425900"]}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82272535"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82272535"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["82302741"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82302741"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["82272535"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82272535"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["82302741"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["82302741"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Shanghai Science and Technology Commission","award":["24SF1903100"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["24SF1903100"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Int. J. Mol. Sci.","IJMS"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a major cause of chronic low back pain and imposes a substantial socioeconomic burden. Ginsenoside Rh2 (Gin-Rh2), a bioactive ginseng compound with antioxidant properties, may have therapeutic potential in IVDD, but its effects and underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we evaluated Gin-Rh2 in cellular and rat models of IVDD. In vitro, Gin-Rh2 attenuated interleukin-1\u03b2 (IL-1\u03b2)-induced nucleus pulposus cell apoptosis, reduced matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) expression, and increased aggrecan and type II collagen production. Network pharmacology and molecular docking implicated the phosphoinositide 3-kinase\/protein kinase B (PI3K\/AKT) pathway as a potential target. Mechanistic experiments further indicated that inhibition of PI3K\/AKT signaling contributed to the protective effects of Gin-Rh2, whereas pharmacological activation of this pathway partially attenuated these effects. In vivo, Gin-Rh2 attenuated puncture-induced disc degeneration. Collectively, these findings suggest that Gin-Rh2 protects nucleus pulposus cells and attenuates experimental IVDD, supporting its further investigation as a potential therapeutic candidate.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms27188228","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]],"date-time":"2026-09-16T07:58:59Z","timestamp":1789545539000},"page":"8228","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ginsenoside Rh2 Attenuates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Modulating the PI3K\/AKT Signaling Pathway to Suppress Apoptosis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Bo","family":"Li","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-0206-2167","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Qizhu","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yichuan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Huoliang","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Linyu","family":"Jin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Leisheng","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Xingfeng","family":"Zheng","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Shengdan","family":"Jiang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Spine Surgery, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200092, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,16]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)00733-9","article-title":"Low back pain","volume":"398","author":"Knezevic","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"The Lancet Rheumatology (2023). 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