Papers of the Week

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) is a prevalent spinal ailment and the leading cause of chronic low back pain. Understanding the exact pathogenesis of IVDD and developing targeted molecular drugs will be important in the future. Autophagy plays a key role in the metabolic processes and in the quality control of proteins in IVDD. However, the role of autophagy in the senescence of nucleus pulposus cell (NPC), the primary cells in the intervertebral disc responsible for maintaining the disc’s structure and function, is not yet clear.