Research progress on natural active ingredients intervening in the hypoxia-pyroptosis-inflammation cascade in intervertebral disc degeneration through HIF-1α
- VernacularTitle:天然活性成分通过HIF-1α干预椎间盘退变“缺氧-焦亡-炎症”级联反应的研究进展
- Author:
Hao WANG
1
;
Renchang CHEN
1
;
Wenhao HUANG
1
;
Bingqian ZHOU
1
;
Xiqiu ZHENG
1
;
Jiahao WANG
1
;
Nianhu LI
2
;
Yadong WU
1
Author Information
1. First Clinical Medical College，Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine，Jinan 250014，China
2. Dept. of Spine and Spinal Cord，the Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine，Jinan 250014，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
HIF-1α;
natural active ingredients;
nucleus pulposus tissue;
hypoxia;
pyroptosis;
inflammation
- From:
China Pharmacy
2026;37(8):1092-1098
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Intervertebral disc degeneration （IVDD） is the core cause of chronic low back pain， which severely impairs patients’ quality of life and imposes a heavy social and medical burden. The hypoxia-pyroptosis-inflammation cascade mediated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1α （HIF-1α） is the core pathological mechanism driving the initiation and progression of IVDD. Natural active ingredients derived from traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） have become a research hotspot in the field of IVDD prevention and treatment due to their advantages of multi-target effects， favorable efficacy， and low toxicity. This paper systematically reviews the mechanism of HIF-1α-mediated hypoxia-pyroptosis-inflammation cascade in degenerative nucleus pulposus tissue and the intervention of related active ingredients. It is found that natural active ingredients such as baicalein， curcumin and resveratrol can intervene in the HIF-1α-mediated pathological cascade through four core links to delay IVDD progression： targeting the HIF-1α oxygen sensing pathway to block the initiation of pyroptosis cascade， inhibiting NOD-like receptor protein 3 inflammasome activation to cut off the cascade amplification of inflammatory signals， intervening in the Gasdermin D-mediated pyroptosis execution stage to protect cell membrane integrity， and regulating extracellular matrix metabolism to reconstruct intervertebral disc homeostasis.
