Experimental study on the regulation of subchondral bone plate osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand system by berberine to retard the development of osteoarthritis in rabbits / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To investigate the effect of intra-articular berberine injection on the structural remodeling of subchondral bone plate and osteoprotegerin/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand(OPG/RANKL) system expression in rabbits with osteoarthritis(OA).@*METHODS@#Forty 12-month-old male rabbits with an average of(2.73±0.18) kg of body weight, underwent left anterior cruciate ligament transection(ACLT), and were divided into berberine group and placebo groups after operation, 20 rabbits in each group. The berberine group received intra-articular injection of 100 μmol/L berberine 0.3 ml every week for 6 weeks. In placebo group, the same dose of 0.9% sodium chloride injection was injected into the left knee joint cavity every week for 6 weeks. Another 20 12-month-old male rabbits, weighing (2.68±0.18) kg, underwent sham operation on the left knee joint without intra-articular injection intervention (sham operation group). On the last day of the sixth week after operation, three groups of animals were sacrificed to obtain knee joint specimens. The femoral medial condyle samples were obtained for histological evaluation of cartilage and subchondral bone, Mankin scoring system was used to evaluate articular cartilage structure. Image-Pro Plus(IPP) software was used to evaluate subchondral bone plate bone volume(BV), bone volume/total volume(BV/TV), trabecular circumference(TC), mean trabecular thickness (Tb.Th). Real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerization Enzyme chain reaction(reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, RT-PCR) was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of OPG and RANKL in subchondral bone tissue at 6 weeks after operation.@*RESULTS@#The cartilage structure evaluation showed that the surface of cartilage tissue in the sham operation group was smooth and flat, and the safranin coloration was full in the full thickness of the cartilage;the cartilage tissue in the berberine group showed uneven surface layer, and the staining of safranin O was mildly decreased;the surface layer fibrosis was seen in placebo group, Safranin O faded significantly. The Mankin score in the berberine group was lower than that in placebo group(P<0.01), but higher than that in sham operation group(P<0.01). The structural evaluation of subchondral bone plate showed that the trabecular bone in sham-operated group was densely arranged;after berberine intervention, the trabeculae were closely arranged;the subchondral bone trabeculae in placebo group were relatively sparse, and the distance between trabeculae was wider. Subchondral bone plate IPP software evaluation showed that BV, BV/TV, TC, Tb.Th in berberine group were higher than those in placebo group(P<0.01), BV, BV/TV, TC, Tb.Th in berberine group were higher than those in placebo group(P<0.01), while lower than the sham operation group (P<0.01). PCR test results showed that the expression of OPG mRNA in the berberine group was significantly higher than that in placebo group(P<0.01), and OPG mRNA in the berberine group was lower than that in sham operation group (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in mRNA expression of RANKL among three groups(P>0.05);the ratio of OPG/RANKL in berberine group was higher than that in placebo group(P<0.01), but lower than that in sham operation group(P<0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#Intra-articular injection of berberine can effectively inhibit the resorption of subchondral bone in the early stage of OA and delay the development of the disease. The specific mechanism may be that berberine maintains the balance of OPG/RANKL system by up-regulating the expression of OPG gene in subchondral bone.

Comparison of the clinical effects between Dihuang Decoction and alendronate sodium in the treatment of primary osteoporosis / 中国骨伤

OBJECTIVE@#To study and compare the clinical effects of Rehmannia Decoction and alendronate sodium for the treatment of primary osteoporosis.@*METHODS@#From January 2016 to December 2017, 72 patients with primary osteoporosis who took Dihuang Decoction(DHD) orally and alendronate regularly for more than one year were randomly divided into 2 groups:experimental group and control group. The experimental group consisted of 14 males and 22 females, with an average age of(63.97±3.70) years old. The patients in the experimental group took Chinese medicine DHD, one dose each time, one time in the morning and one time in the evening, twice a week. The control group consisted of 16 males and 20 females with an average age of(63.36±3.07) years old. Patients in the control group were given alendronate 70 mg orally once a week. The basic treatment for osteoporosis remained unchanged in both groups(600 mg of calcium carbonate D3 and 0.5 μg of calcitriol capsules were taken daily). Bone mineral density (BMD) of femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry before and after treatment for one year. The levels of serum collagen type I C-terminal peptide (beta-CTX) and serum osteoclast (SOST) were measured before and after treatment for two groups.@*RESULTS@#The age, bone mineral density, SOST and beta-CTX baseline values between the two groups before and after anti-osteoporosis treatment were compared. The difference was not statistically significant(>0.05). Compared with the two groups, the BMD of femoral neck and lumbar vertebrae were increased after 1 year of anti-osteoporosis treatment. The differences were statistically significant (0.05). The serum beta-CTX values were compared between the two groups after treatment. The value was 0.908. The serum SOST values were compared between the two groups after treatment. The value was 0.888. The difference was not statistically significant (>0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#In this study, traditional Chinese medicine DHD is used to treat osteoporosis. It is found that DHD and alendronate have a good effect. The DHD can be used as a choice of Chinese medicine in the treatment of primary osteoporosis.