Myricetin alleviated hydrogen peroxide-induced cellular senescence of nucleus pulposus cell through regulating SERPINE1

BACKGROUND: Myricetin (MYR) is a common plant flavonoid with antioxidant and anticancer properties. However, the anti-aging effect of MYR on nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) is still unknown. The study aimed to explore the effect of MYR on the senescence of NPCs. METHODS: Methyl-thiazolyl tetrazolium assay was used to detect NPCs viability. Senescence level was evaluated by senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) staining and the expression levels of P21, P16, IL-6 and IL-8. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq) technology was used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between hydrogen peroxide + MYR (HO + MYR) group and HO group, and Gene Ontology (GO) functional was performed to analyze DEGs. A Venn diagram was generated to screen overlapping DEGs related to aging and inflammation, and the role of the promising validated DEG was selected for further investigation by gene functional assays. RESULTS: HO inhibited NPCs viability and stimulated the senescent phenotype of NPCs, whereas MYR treatment significantly reversed SA-β-gal activity in NPCs. MYR also reduced the expression of p21 and p16 and the secretion of IL-6 and IL-8 induced by HO. RNA-seq screened 421 DEGs. The GO enrichment results showed DEGs were mainly enriched in terms such as "sterol biosynthetic process". We also found SERPINE1 has the highest log2FC abs. Silence of SERPINE1 inhibited HO-induced NPCs senescence, and overexpression of SERPINE1 could limit the anti-aging effect of MYR. CONCLUSIONS: MYR alleviated HO-induced senescence of NPCs by regulating SERPINE1 in vitro. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13018-022-03463-0.