Fig. 2.

Melatonin alleviates IVDD by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome priming and activation in vivo. a MRI images of human discs. b H&E staining of human discs (original magnification ×10, ×50; scale bar = 500 µm, 100 µm). c, d IHC staining and quantitative analysis of NLRP3, P20, and IL-1β in human discs (original magnification ×400; scale bar = 50 µm). e, f IHC staining and quantitative analysis of NLRP3, P20, and IL-1β in IVDD rats treated with melatonin (original magnification ×400, scale bar = 50 µm). g, h IHC staining and quantitative analysis of Aggrecan and Collagen II in IVDD rats treated with melatonin or melatonin plus LPS (original magnification ×400; scale bar = 50 µm). n = 5, *P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001. The data are shown as the means ± SD