CD68 and intervertebral disk degenerative disorder: When Shamji et al. analyzed IDD and LDH patients’ samples, the percentage of CD4+ lymphocytes and CD68+ macrophages were significantly higher in NP of both IDD and LDH compared with healthy IVD, and the expression of IL-4, IL-6, IL-12, IL-17, and IFNγ were significantly higher in NP of LDH compared with IDD; notably, IL-17A was particularly elevated.