DDIT3 and intervertebral disk degenerative disorder: Since the functional role of the SLC43A3 gene has not been studied in the pathogenesis of IDD, our study was also aimed at determining whether SLC43A3 prevents PA-induced ER stress in NP cells, and the results revealed that overexpression of SLC43A3 significantly decreased the expression of the ER-stress markers GRP78 and CHOP.