In order to study the cellular and molecular pathway of disc degeneration, stem cells were initially isolated from rabbit AF tissues (AFSCs) and the stemness of these AFSCs was identified by three stem cell markers, namely octamer-binding transcription factor-4 (Oct-4), stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4) and nucleostemin (NS). This evidence concerns the gene GNL3 and atrial fibrillation.