The therapeutic effect of TBK1 in intervertebral disc degeneration via coordinating selective autophagy and autophagic functions

INTRODUCTION: While its innate immune function has been known, recent works of literature have focused on the role of Tank binding kinase 1 (TBK1) in regulating autophagy and it is unknown whether TBK1 protects against intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD) through affecting autophagy. OBJECTIVES: Here, we aim to explore whether TBK1 is implicated in the pathogenesis of IVDD, and investigated the potential mechanism. METHODS: Western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to detect the TBK1 expression in human and rat NP tissue. After TBK1 overexpression in NP cells with lentivirus transfection, autophagic flux, apoptosis and senescence percentage were assessed. Si-RNA , a utophagy inhibitors and protein phosphatase inhibitors were applied to study the mechanism of autophagy regulation. In vivo study, we further evaluated the therapeutic action of lentivirus-TBK1(Lv-TBK1)injection in a rodent IVDD model. RESULTS: The TBK1 level was reduced in rat and human NP tissue. TBK1 overexpression protected against apoptosis and premature senescence. These functions of TBK1 were abolished by chloroquine-medicated autophagy inhibition.P-TBK1, an activation form of TBK, is involved in selective autophagy through directly phosphorylating P62 at Ser 403, and the activation of TBK1 is also dependent on Parkin manner. TBK1 also activated NPCs autophagy to relieve puncture injury in vivo. CONCLUSION: We demonstrated that TBK1 overexpression attenuated senescence and apoptosis and promoted NPCs survival via upregulating autophagy. TBK1 represents a promising avenue for IVDD treatment.