Research Paper Volume 16, Issue 6 pp 5050—5064

Figure 1. MAP2K6 exhibited heightened expression levels in IDD. (A) Volcano plot illustrating the differential gene expression in human NP samples Note: GSE186542, GSE185728, GSE167199, (Control group [CTR]: n = 8, Intervertebral Disc degeneration [IDD]: n = 8). (B) Heatmap depicting the top 20 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in human NP. (C) Venn diagram illustrating the intersection of DEGs between the CTR and IDD groups and senescence-related genes. (D) RT-qPCR results presenting the expression levels of candidate genes (MAP2K6, BRCA2, and SERPINE1) in degenerative NP cells. (E, F) Immunofluorescence staining (IF) and corresponding quantitative analysis of MAP2K6 in CTR and IDD human NP samples. (Original magnification 100×, scale bar = 400 μm; Red arrow: positive cells). (G, H) Western Blot analysis and quantitative assessment of MAP2K6 expression in human NP samples. CTR, control group; IDD, intervertebral disc degeneration group. n = 3 each group. Data are represented as mean ± standard deviation. ***p < 0.001, as determined by t-test.