FIGURE 6.

A schematic diagram depicts the molecular basis by which lncRNA NEAT1 downregulates miR-195a to promote BAX/BAK-dependent apoptosis and extracellular matrix degradation in vitro and in vivo. Downregulation of NEAT1 significantly suppressed the apoptosis induced by AGE in nucleus pulposus cells, while silencing of miR-195a or over-expression of BAX obviously reversed this effect. Moreover, negative regulation of miR-195a by NEAT1 resulted in upregulation of MMP-3, cleaved caspase-3, BAX, and BAK and downregulation of Collagen II and TIMP-1, which are associated with EMT and apoptosis.