Fig. 8

Pharmacologic inhibition of Hif1α attenuates experimental IVD degeneration. a IVD samples were harvested at 2 and 4 weeks post LSI surgery and analyzed histologically by Safranin O/Fast green/alcian blue staining. b Histological degenerative scores of EP tissue. c Immunofluorescence detection and e–g quantitative analysis of OC, RUNX2, and COLI expression were performed in lumbar discs of mice at 4 weeks post LSI surgery (n = 3 per group). d Immunostaining and h–j quantitative analysis of GLUT⁺ cells, LDHA⁺ cells and CML⁺ cells (red) in lumbar discs (n = 3 per group). k Schematic diagram of the mechanisms underlying the roles of aberrant HIF1α signaling in DDD pathogenesis. Scale bar: 50 µm (a, c, d). Data are expressed as the percent expression relative to controls. Values represent the mean (symbols) ± SD (error bars). *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001.