Background: Intervertebral disc degeneration disease (IVDD) is a prevalent orthopedic condition that causes chronic lower back pain, imposing a substantial economic burden on patients and society. Despite its high incidence, the pathophysiological mechanisms of IVDD remain incompletely understood.
Objective: This study aimed to identify metabolomic alterations in IVDD patients and explore the key metabolic pathways and metabolites involved in its pathogenesis.
Methods: Serum samples from 20 IVDD patients and 20 healthy controls were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS). The identified metabolites were mapped to metabolic pathways using the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database.
Results: Significant alterations were observed in metabolites such as 2-methyl-1,3-cyclohexadiene, stearoyl sphingomyelin, methylcysteine, L-methionine, and cis, cis-muconic acid. These metabolites were involved in pathways including glycine, serine, and threonine metabolism, cyanoamino acid metabolism, and the citrate cycle (TCA cycle).
Conclusion: The identified metabolic alterations provide insights into the pathogenesis of IVDD and suggest potential therapeutic targets for future investigation.
Keywords: IVDD; UHPLC‐MS; intervertebral disc degeneration; metabolic marker; nontargeted metabolomics.
© 2025 The Author(s). JOR Spine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Orthopaedic Research Society.