Melatonin attenuates oxidative stress–induced ferroptosis of nucleus pulposus cells and intervertebral disc degeneration via PI3K/AKT-mTOR pathway
Melatonin mitigates IVDD by suppressing ferroptosis and preserving ECM homeostasis through melatonergic receptor (MT1/MT2)-dependent activation of the PI3K/AKT-mTOR pathway. Notably, clinical and protein-level evidence suggests that MT1 may represent the predominant therapeutic target, supporting melatonin as a promising, low-toxicity candidate for delaying IVDD progression.
Authors
- Xiang Long
- Xingchen Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6740-3432)
- Yunbing Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0441-5727)
- Feng-Juan Lyu
- Zongyuan Deng
- Zhengao Wang
- Lutong Wang
- Guoyan Liang
- Chengyun Ning
- Xing Cheng
- Peng Yu
- Tao Yu
- Zhencong Zhang
- Chong Chen
- Yongxiong Huang
Institutions
- South China Agricultural University (CN)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Boxing People's Hospital (CN)
- Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences (CN)
- Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (CN)
- Southern Medical University (CN)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Surgery
- Published
- 2026-02-23
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1097/js9.0000000000004980
- Primary Topic
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00