Abstract:Objective To explore the biological role of long non-coding RNA（lncRNA）linc01776 in proliferation and apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells. Methods The nucleus pulposus cells were divided into blank control group，silent control group，and linc01776 silencing group. Plasmids containing the silent control sequence and the siRNA-linc01776 silencing sequence were respectively added to the cells of the silent control group and the linc01776 silencing group for cell transfection. Cell proliferation was detected by CCK-8 assay，apoptosis by flow cytometry，and protein expression of Caspase-3 and Bcl-2 by western blot.Results Compared with the silent control group，the expression level of the linc01776 gene at the target site in the linc01776 silencing group was significantly decreased（P<0.05）， and the knockdown efficiency was 53% . The OD values of cell proliferation in the linc01776 silencing group at 3 days and 5 days after transfection were significantly higher than those in the blank control group ，and the differences were statistically significant（P<0.05）. The apoptosis rate of cells in the linc01776 silencing group was lower than that in both the blank control group and the silent control group（P<0.05）. The results of western blot showed that the relative expression level of Caspase-3 in the linc01776 silencing group was lower than that in both the blank control group and the silent control group，and the relative expression level of Bcl-2 protein was higher than that in both the blank control group and the silent control group（P<0.05）. Conclusion Down-regulating the expression of linc01776 can promote the proliferation of nucleus pulposus cells and inhibit the apoptosis of nucleus pulposus cells. Its mechanism may be to participate in the development of intervertebral disc degeneration by regulating the synthesis of Caspase-3 and Bcl-2 proteins in cells.