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. 2020 Jan 27;52(1):31–40. doi: 10.1038/s12276-019-0372-6

Fig. 2. Autophagy in intervertebral disc degeneration.

Fig. 2

Compression, high glucose levels, serum deprivation, and glucose limitation are common stimuli that activate autophagy in IVDs through different pathways and play various roles in IDD. In contrast, hypoxia inhibits autophagy through the classic autophagy pathway in NPCs. ROS are factors involved in high glucose-, serum deprivation- and hypoxia-dependent autophagy regulation that downregulate mTOR signaling.