ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Systems Immunology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1600194
Preliminary research indicates that mechanical force through Pioze1 enhances local immunity during NPWT treatment for spinal infections
Provisionally accepted
- 960th Hospital of the PLA, Jinan, China
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Objective This study aims to investigate the mechanism by which Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) regulates local immune responses in spinal infection through Piezo1-mediated mechanical stress, and elucidate its potential role in the treatment of spinal infections.Methods From July 2021 to April 2022, a total of 7 patients with spinal infection treated with NPWT at our department were included in the study. The study analyzed clinical outcomes of spinal infection surgeries, including operative duration, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative drainage, improvements in pain levels as measured by the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), and inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) measured one week before and after the procedure. Additionally, healing times and recurrence rates within two years post-surgery were assessed. In addition, lesion specimens were retained during surgery and changes in Piezo1, Interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-8, and Tumor Necrosis Factor-α (TNF-α) in lesion tissues were observed before and after immunohistochemical analysis.Results All 7 patients with spinal infections successfully underwent NPWT treatment and were ultimately cured. The average healing time was 45.71±9.49 days, and there were no cases of recurrence or death during the two-year follow-up period. Surgical data showed a surgery duration of 96.57±13.31 minutes, intraoperative blood loss of 65.71±29.36 milliliters, and postoperative drainage of 163.57±11.07 milliliters. Postoperatively, CRP, ESR, and VAS all significantly improved compared to preoperative levels (all p<0.05), which was superior to traditional treatment methods. Following NPWT intervention, the expression of Piezo1 protein at the lesion site significantly increased (0.03±0.11 vs. 0.27±0.22; p<0.05), while the expression levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α in the local immune microenvironment of the infected lesion significantly decreased (0.26±0.11 vs. 0.16±0.09, 0.27±0.12 vs. 0.15±0.67, 0.26±0.18 vs. 0.10±0.12, 0.35±0.21 vs. 0.15±0.11; p<0.05).Conclusion Clinical results demonstrate that NPWT treatment for spinal infections exhibits remarkable efficacy, accompanied by a notable augmentation in local Piezo1 protein consistency. It is hypothesized that the mechanical force employed in NPWT treatment stimulates the Piezo1 protein, thereby modulating local immune cells and factors, ultimately bolstering local immunity.
Keywords: Spinal infection, Negative pressure wound therapy, Piezo1, mechanical force, immune response
Received: 26 Mar 2025; Accepted: 14 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Hao, Pan, Liu, Wang and Chang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Zhengqi Chang, 960th Hospital of the PLA, Jinan, China
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