Fig. 6From: Autophagy in spinal ligament fibroblasts: evidence and possible implications for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligamentA hypothetic diagram for pathogenesis of OPLL. Aberrant activation of Beclin1-autophagy signaling plays an important role in development of OPLL. Beclin1-autophagy is upregulated in OPLL-derived ligament fibroblast and transcriptions of OCN, ALP, and COL 1 are increased, which promotes the differentiation of ligament fibroblast and ultimately causes OPLL formation. OPLL, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament; ALP, alkaline phosphatase, biomineralization associated; COL 1, collagen type 1; OCN, osteocalcinBack to article page