Objective To approach the effect of cathepsin K(CK) on the onset of osteoporosis,and to study the influence of Bushen Tongluo Prescription(BTP,with the actions of invigorating the kidney and dredging the meridians) on osteoclast CK in ovariectomized rats.Methods Thirty female SD rats were divided into three groups randomly: sham-operation group,model group and BTP(12.46g.kg-1.d-1) group.The bilateral ovaries in rats of the model group and BTP group were removed.Four weeks later,BTP group were given gastric gavage of BTP.On the 6th and 12th weeks,we detected the general bone density of rats,examined CK expressionin osteoclasts with Western blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR) methods.ResultsThe in-vitro cultured cells had the phenotype feature of mature osteoclasts.The bone mineral density of ovariectomized rats was negatively correlated with CK expression in time-effect manner.BTP down-regulated the CK protein and CK mRNA expression(P

OBJECTIVE:To systematically review the efficacy and safety of Bushen huoxue herb and celecoxib in the treat-ment of knee osteoarthritis, and provide evidence-based reference for clinical treatment. METHODS:Retrieved from CNKI, CBM,VIP and Wanfang Database,Medline,PubMed and Cochrane Library,randomized controlled trials (RCT) about Bushen huoxue herb(test group)and celecoxib(control group)in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis were collected. Meta-analysis was per-formed by using Rev Man 5.3 software after data extraction and quality evaluation. RESULTS:Totally 15 RCTs were included,in-volving 1 129 patients. Results of Meta-analysis showed,the total effective rate [RR=1.09,95%CI(1.04,1.14),P<0.01] and visu-al ache(VAS)score [MD=-0.49,95%CI(-0.94,-0.03),P<0.05] in test group were significantly higher than control group, the differences were statistically significant;there was no significant difference in knee function score [Lequesne:MD=0.24,95%CI (-1.20,1.68),P>0.05;Lysholm:MD=2.32,95%CI(-1.95,6.58),P>0.05;WOMAC:MD=-2.87,95%CI(-6.38,0.64), P>0.05] and the incidence of adverse reactions in 2 groups[RR=0.49,95%CI(0.22,1.09),P=0.08]. CONCLUSIONS:Bushen huoxue herb shows better efficacy and analgesic effect than celecoxib in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis,and is similar to cele-coxib in terms of improving knee function score and safety.

OBJECTIVE： To study the effects of ligustrazine on miR-20b/VEGF and BMP2/Smad1 pathways in subchondral bone of knee osteoarthritis （KOA） model rats， and to investigate the mechanism of ligustrazine for KOA prevention and treatment. METHODS： Totally 18 healthy male SD rats were randomly divided into normal control group， model group and ligustrazine group， with 6 rats in each group. The rats in the latter two groups were used to establish KOA model by intra-articular injection of 4％ papain solution. From the 2nd day after the last injection， ligustrazine group was given intragastrical administration of Ligustrazine suspension （100 mg/kg） 2 mL； normal control group and model group were given intragastrical administration of isometrical normal saline， once a day， for consecutive 6 weeks. After the last after medication， the situation of bilateral knee articular cartilage of rats were observed after exposure. The knee joints of rats were sectioned and stained with HE. The pathological change of articular cartilage were observed by microscope and scored by modified Mankin’s score. mRNA expression of VEGF， BMP2 and Smad1， and the expression of miR-20b were detected by RT-PCR； the protein expression of VEGF， BMP2 and Smad1 were detected by Western blot assay. RESULTS： Model group and ligustrazine group suffered from cartilage injury of knee joint at varying degrees. Compared with normal control group， Mankin’s scores of knee joint and cartilage tissue were increased significantly in model group （P＜0.01）； mRNA and protein expression of BMP and Smad1， the expression of miR-20b in subchondral bone of model group were decreased significantly， while mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were increased significantly （P＜0.01）. Compared with model group， Mankin’s score of cartilage tissue were decreased significantly in ligustrazine group （P＜0.01）； mRNA and protein expression of BMP and Smad1， the expression of miR-20b in subchondral bone were increased significantly， while mRNA and protein expression of VEGF were decreased significantly （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. CONCLUSIONS： Ligustrazine can repair damaged articular cartilage in KOA model rats， the mechanism of which may be associated with inhibiting the protein expression of VEGF and activating BMP-2/Smad1 signaling pathway via up-regulating the expression of miR-20b， and promoting the degradation of VEGF mRNA in subchondral bone.