Nutrients · 8 authors, 4 centres
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This preclinical study used a rat model of type 2 diabetes to investigate how vitamin K2 supplementation affects intervertebral disc degeneration. The central result was that vitamin K2 did not prevent disc degeneration or improve bone growth parameters, but it did influence the expression of some stress-associated genes in disc cells.
The study used male Zucker Diabetes Fatty rats (non-diabetic control and diabetic) with or without vitamin K2 supplementation to investigate the interplay between type 2 diabetes mellitus and intervertebral disc degeneration. Methods included measuring femur lengths and vertebral epiphyseal cross-section areas, histopathological examination of IVDs, and analysis of protein synthesis and gene expression in isolated IVD fibrochondrocytes. Results showed diabetic rats had histopathological IVD degeneration, shorter femurs, and smaller epiphyseal areas, with no improvement from vitamin K2. Isolated fibrochondrocytes from diabetic animals showed low aggrecan gene expression and high collagen type 2 gene expression, regardless of vitamin K2. Vitamin K2 treatment was associated with highest expression of *Socs3* and *Hmox1* genes in diabetic rat cells. Implications suggest vitamin K2 may modulate some stress-related markers in diabetic IVD cells but does not reverse degeneration or skeletal changes.
