DNMT3a‐mediated methylation of PPARγ promote intervertebral disc degeneration by regulating the NF‐κB pathway

Abstract Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a common chronic musculoskeletal disease that causes chronic low back pain and imposes an immense financial strain on patients. The pathological mechanisms underlying IVDD have not been fully elucidated. The development of IVDD is closely associated with abnormal epigenetic changes, suggesting that IVDD progression may be controlled by epigenetic mechanisms. Consequently, this study aimed to investigate the role of epigenetic regulation, including DNA methyltransferase 3a (DNMT3a)‐mediated methylation and peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ) inhibition, in IVDD development. The expression of DNMT3a and PPARγ in early and late IVDD of nucleus pulposus (NP) tissues was detected using immunohistochemistry and western blotting analyses. Cellularly, DNMT3a inhibition significantly inhibited IL‐1β‐induced apoptosis and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation in rat NP cells. Pretreatment with T0070907, a specific inhibitor of PPARγ, significantly reversed the anti‐apoptotic and ECM degradation effects of DNMT3a inhibition. Mechanistically, DNMT3a modified PPARγ promoter hypermethylation to activate the nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) pathway. DNMT3a inhibition alleviated IVDD progression. Conclusively, the results of this study show that DNMT3a activates the NF‐κB pathway by modifying PPARγ promoter hypermethylation to promote apoptosis and ECM degradation. Therefore, we believe that the ability of DNMT3a to mediate the PPARγ/NF‐κB axis may provide new ideas for the potential pathogenesis of IVDD and may become an attractive target for the treatment of IVDD.