Elevated miR-129-5p depresses the inflammation in serum and NP tissues in rats with IDD. (a) The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the serum of each group of rats; (b) The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α in the NP tissues of rats in each group. * vs the sham group, P < 0.05; & vs the agomir-NC group, P < 0.05; # vs the antagomir-NC group, P < 0.05. Ten rats in each group; the data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation. One-way ANOVA was used for data analysis, and pairwise comparison after ANOVA analysis was conducted via using Tukey’s post hoc test.