Genetic background and aging-driven neuroimmune and disc changes underscore herniation susceptibility and pain-associated behaviors in SM/J mice

SM/J mice experience spontaneous age-associated intervertebral disc herniations, with molecular analyses indicating a dysregulated immune system may contribute to this disc pathology. To investigate this, we analyzed the circulating immune cells of these mice during aging, in relation to BL/6 mice, which do not experience disc herniation. PBMCs were isolated from the whole blood of 12-month-old and 20-month-old BL/6 and SM/J mice, using standardized Lymphoprep protocols. Single-cell sequencing was conducted on PBMCs using the 10X-genomic platform. Samples were multiplexed, to consolidate both timepoints for each strain into a single sample per strain.