Osteoarthritis ( OA) is a chronic joint disease characterized by degeneration of articular cartilage and changes of subchondral bone play an important role in the occurrence and development of OA .Recent studies have found that change in the struc-ture and mechanical properties of subchondral bone is one of the main pathological processes in OA .To confirm the role of subchondral bone in OA process can provide not only more details about the pathogenesis of OA , but also new targets for treatment .Early diagnosis and treatment of OA may be possible by detecting radiographic and genomics of subchondral bone .We review subchondral bone chan-ges andits role in OA process in aspects of biomechanics , biology, radiological and genomics .

BACKGROUND:Osteoporosis and its complications severely threaten the elder’s health. Simvastatin, widely accepted as a lipid-lowering drug, is reported to potentialy promote bone formation, but it is in debate when oraly administered, and there is no evidence to support whether this is due to the region difference.
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the effect of oraly administered simvastatin on bone mass and biomechanical properties of the femur and vertebrae in osteopenia rats induced by ovariectomy (OVX).
METHODS: Twenty-four 6-month-old female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to OVX+oraly administered saline vehicle (OVX group,n=8), OVX+oraly administered simvastatin (5 mg/kg/d; intervention group,n=8) or sham surgery (sham group,n=8). After 8 weeks of treatment, al rats were sacrificed and the level of procolagen type I N-terminal propeptide in blood serum was assessed by ELISA. Bone mineral density was determined in the L5 vertebra and left femur using dual-energy X-rays. Furthermore, the biomechanical properties of the L4 vertebra and right femur, including maximum load and elastic modulus, were detected by compression testing and three-point bending test, respectively.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The serum level of procolagen type I N-terminal propeptide in the sham group was significantly lower than that in the other two groups. OVX rats showed significantly lower bone mineral density in both the L5 vertebra and left femur than sham rats (P < 0.05). Rats in the intervention group showed higher bone mineral density than those in the OVX group, with statisticaly significant difference in the L5 vertebra (P < 0.05), but insignificant difference in the femur. Maximum load and elastic modulus of the L4 vertebra in the OVX group were significantly lower than those in the sham and intervention group. Markedly lower elastic modulus of the femur was found in the OVX group than the sham and intervention groups. These findings demonstrate that simvastatin treatment can partialy prevent bone loss in OVX rats with more notable effect on the vertebrae than the femur, and for this model, the vertebra is superior to the femur used in biomechanical test.

Objective To study the effect of calcitonin on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in femoral fracture healing in ovariectomized rats .Methods 80 female rats of 3 months old were randomly divided into four groups :Sham operation group(Sham ,10 cases);Ovariectomized operation group(OVX ,10 cases);Ovariectomy+ fracture+ salinegroup(Control ,30 cases) and Ovariectomy+ fracture +calcitonin group(Experimental ,30 cases) .Rats in Sham group and OVX group were performed ovari-otomy and killed after 4 weeks ,femoral bone mineral density was measured .For rats in Control group and Experimental group ,right middle femoral facture was performed 4 weeks later after ovariectomy .Calcitonin(16 IU/kg)were injected subcutaneously once per 2 days in Experimental group ,while those in Control group were given equal volume of normal saline .Rods in these two groups were killed after 3 ,6 ,9 weeks(10 at a time) ,femoral bone mineral density(BMD)was measured;hematoxylin-eosin staining and im-munohisto-chemical staining were performed at the 3th ,6th and 9th week after fracture ,respectively .Results Compared with Sham group ,rats weight in OVX group gained more(P< 0 .05) ,and BMD in OVX group significantly decreased more(P< 0 .05) .HE staining ,at the 3th week after fracture ,endochondral ossification domained in fracture healing ,and no significant difference existed (P>0 .05)in BMD .At the 6th week after fracture ,bone trabecula in both groups arranged in order ,compared with the control group ,BMD in experimental group increased significantly(P<0 .05) .At the 9th week after fracture ,bone trabecula in both groups arranged closely ,BMD in both groups showed significant difference(P<0 .05) .There was no significant difference of vascular endo-thelial growth factor(VEGF)between experimental group and control group at the 3th ,6th ,9th week after fracture(P>0 .05) .Con-clusion The results suggest that calcitonin treatment could enhance the bone mineral density significantly after fracture ,but it has no impact on the expression of VEGF in osteoporotic fracture healing .

BACKGROUND:Tissue inhibitor of matrix metaloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1) is the corresponding antagonist of matrix metaloproteinase 13 (MMP-13), and their balance between expression and functional activity exerts an important role in the metabolic state of the extracelular matrix. During the development of osteoarthritis, however, TIMP-1 and MMP-13 expressions and their expression ratio show unclear changes in DH guinea pigs.
OBJECTIVE:To explore the expression levels of MMP-13 and TIMP-1 in DH guinea pigs with different ages, and to analyze the relationship between the ratio of MMP-13 to TIMP-1 and the age-dependent degenerative changes in the articular cartilage.
METHODS:Twenty-four female Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs were sacrificed at age of 2, 4, 8, 12 months separately, with six animals at each time point. The knee joints were colected and gross visual appearance of the articular cartilage was observed, then were decalcified and prepared for paraffin sections. VG staining and Mankin score were used to analyze the histological changes. Immunohistochemistry was conducted to assess the expression levels of MMP-13 and TIMP-1 in the cartilage. Integrated absorbance values were used as the quantitive analysis calculated by Image pro-Plus 6.0. Linear regression analysis was done to analysis the relationship between Mankin score and the ratio of MMP-13/TIMP-1. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Normal appearance in the articular cartilage was observed in 2-month-old DH guinea pigs, while degenerative changes in the articular cartilage were shown in 4-month-old animals, which became severer with age. Significant difference was found in Mankin score between any two groups (P < 0.05). The ratio of MMP-13 to TIMP-1 increased with age, and the ratio was positively correlated to the Mankin score (P < 0.05). Age-related articular cartilage degeneration occurred in Dunkin Hartley guinea pigs at 4 months of age, and devoloped with age, which is related with the imbanlance of the expression ratio of MMP-13 to TIMP-1.

Objective To investigate the effects of lovastatin alone or combined with calcitonin on fracture repair in osteoporotic rats. Methods Forty 4-month-old female SD rats were randomized into 5 groups(8 rats in each group):normal fractured group (A), osteoporotic fractured group (B), lovastatin treatment group(C), calcitonin treatment group (D) and lovastatin combined with calcitonin treatment group. All rats except group A received bilateral ovariectomy. The midshaft femur fracture model was established in all rats 8 weeks after operation. The serum level of procollagen amino-terminal propeptide (PINP) was assessed by ELISA. X-ray and bone mineral density detection was used to observe the fracture healing process. The maximal loading of femoral fractures was analyzed by biomechanical method. Results (1) The serum level of PINP was significantly lower in group A than that of other groups. There was a significantly higher level of PINP in group C and group E than that of group B, and the level of PINP was significantly lower in group D than that of group C. (2) The X-ray showed more progressed fracture healing in group A and group E. The accordingly score indicated that there was a markedly higher score in groups A and group E compared to that of other three groups. (3) There was a highest bone mineral density in the full-length and in the middle of femur bone in group A, followed by group E, group D and group C. The lowest bone mineral density was found in group B. (4) The biomechanical test showed that the maximal loading in femur fracture side was significantly higher in group A than that of other four groups, in which it was higher in group E than that of group B. Conclusion The osteoporosis decreased bone mass and delayed fracture healing process in rat model. The treatment of lovastatin combined with calcitonin showed more positive effect on preventing bone loss and promoting fracture repair than lovastatin alone.

OBJECTIVE:To compare the effects of strontium ranelate and PTH(1-34)on bone quality of ovariectomized rats. METHODS:80 SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group(group A,n=10)and dual ovariectomy(group B,n=70). 3 months after operation,group B were randomly divided into 7 groups,with 10 rats in each group. B0 group were given nor-mal saline [0.9 g/(kg·d)] subcutaneously;B1-B3 groups were given low-dose,medium-dose and high-dose of strontium ranelate [0.45,0.9,1.35 g/(kg·d)] intragastrically;B4-B6 groups were given low-dose,medium-dose and high-dose of PTH(1-34)[30, 60,90 μg/(kg·d),treated for 5 days,rested for 2 days] subcutaneously. Group A was same to group B0 in therapy regimen. All rats were sacrificed 8 weeks later. The contents of P1NP and CTX-1 in serum of rats were determined by ELISA assay;bone densi-ty of 4th lumbar vertebrae was detected by bone densitometer;BV/TV,Tb.Th,Tb.N and Tb.Sp were detected by CT;maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae were measured by compression test. RESULTS:Compared with group A,the se-rum levels of P1NP and CTX-1 in B0-B6 groups increased significantly,while bone density of 4th lumbar vertebrae,maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae decreased significantly in B0-B3 groups(P<0.05);BV/TV level of 4th lumbar verte-brae decreased significantly,while Tb.Sp level increased significantly in B0 group(P<0.05). Compared with B0 group,bone den-sity of 4th lumbar vertebrae,maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae increased significantly in B1-B3 groups (P<0.05);P1NP content,BV/TV,Tb.N level,bone density of 4th lumbar vertebrae,maximal load and elastic modulus of 5th lumbar vertebrae increased significantly in B4-B6 groups,and were higher than in B1-B3 groups(P<0.05). Tb.Sp level of B1-B6 groups decreased significantly and were lower than those of B1-B3 groups(P<0.05). There was no statistical significance in Tb.Th level among 8 groups and CTX-1 content among B0-B6 groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:PTH(1-34) is better than strontium ranelate in inhibiting bone loss,improving vertebral bone micro-structure and biomechanical properties of ovariectomized rats.

Objective To investigate the preventive effect of Strontium ranelate on stress-absence induced osteoporo?sis in tail-suspended rat. Methods A total of 30 SD rats with average age of 6 month were randomly divided into 3 groups (n=10 in each group):Group A was normal control group while rats in group B and C were subjected to tail suspension test to establish stress absence models. Rats in group C were administered with Strontium ranelate [1 g/(kg·d)]. All rats were sacri?ficed 4 weeks later. Left femurs were harvested for bone mineral density (BMD) test and prepared for undecalcified tissue sec?tion and thereby bone histomorphometry assessment. Bone marrow from right femurs and tibias were cultured and induced to?wards osteogenic-differentiation. The expression levels of osteocalcin in the fourth-passage cultured bone marrow cells and in blood serum were detected separately. Results Rats in group B showed markedly decreased BMD comparing to those in group A and C(P<0.05). Trabecular volume (BV/TV), number (Tb.N) and thickness (Tb.Th) in group B were lower than those in group A and C;erosion percentage (Er.Pm) and osteoclast number (Oc.N) in group B and C were higher than those in group A;comparing to those in group B, bone formation rate (BFR/BV), labeled percentage (L.Pm), were higher in group C, coupled with decreased Er.Pm and Oc.N(P<0.05). mRNA expression levels of OCN in group B and C were higher than those of group A. But its level in plasma were lower in group B than those in group A and C(P<0.05). Conclusion Tail suspension could induce osteosporosis. Strontium ranelate prevent bone loss in stress-absence osteoporosis in rat induced by tail-suspension for 4 weeks, which might be partially through upregulating the expression of OCN, thereby promoting bone formation.

[Abstract ] Objective Stenosis is a common complication of Crohn′s disease (CD), different treatments for different cau-ses.The article aimed to investigate bowel stenosis by the application of MRI diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI) and explore its value of identifying CD. Methods From Jan 2014 to Jun 2014, 31 patients with histologically proven CD (18 males and 13 females;mean age:38.90 ±13.65 years) were recruited in this approved retrospective study .All patients underwent conventional 3.0T MRI and DWI sequences .According to the most serious stenosis part identified by MRI , DWI sequence examination was added and the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the lesion was measured.All patients would undergo colonoscopy in 24 hours.According to the endo-scopic manifestations and pathological results , the patients were divided into inflammatory group (n=21) and fibrotic group (n=10). We observed the difference of ADC between two groups and worked out the cutoff points . Results In the inflammatory group , the ADC value andthe mean ADC value of stenosis bowel wall were (1.01 ±1.83) ×103 mm2/s and (1.40 ±0.23) ×103 mm2/s, whereas (0.53 ±1.03) ×103 mm2/s and (0.80 ±0.16) ×103 mm2/s in the fibrotic group(P<0.05).The area under receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.981 (95%confidence interval 0.943-1.000), taking 1.11 ×103mm2/s as the cutoff point.The sensitivity of low ADC values in detecting inflammatory bowels was 90.5%, and the specificity of high ADC values in excluding inflammatory bowels was 100%. Conclusion Different pathological components limit the movement of water molecular at different degrees , therefore quantitative parameters can be acquired by measuring ADCs , which contributes to the identification and diagnosis of CD secondary bowel stenosis.

Objective Simvastatin, as a widely used lipid-lowering drug, exhibits a potential effect of promoting bone forma-tion. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of oral simvastatin on lumbar vertebral bone mass and intervertebral disc ( IVD) degeneration in ovariectomized ( OVX ) rats. Methods Thirty female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to dual OVX ( n=20) or sham surgery ( n=10) and the OVX rats were treated orally with either saline vehicle (OVX+V, n=10) or simvastatin (OVX+SIM, n=10 ) at 5 mg per kg of the body weight per day. After 6 months of intervention, the microstructure of the L3 vertebra was ob-served by micro-CT, the bone mineral density ( BMD) in the L5-6 ver-tebrae determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and histo-logical changes of the L5-6 vertebrae analyzed by van Gieson stainingand semi-quantitative evaluation. Results Compared with the sham-operation group, both the OVX+V and OVX+SIM groups showed significantly decreased BMD in L5([0.2933±0.0110] vs [0.2423±0.0081] and [0.2598±0.0249] g/cm2, P<0.05), L6 ([0.2907±0.0150] vs [0.2395±0.0061] and [0.2572±0.0121] g/cm2, P<0.05), and L5-6([0.2860±0.0115] vs [0.2380± 0.0059] and [0.2528±0.0126] g/cm2, P<0.05), but all the 3 parameters were remarkably higher in the OVX+SIM than in the OVX+V group (P<0.05). Micro-CT analysis manifested significantly lower BV/TV and Tb.N but higher Tb.Sp in the OVX+V than in the sham operation group ( P<0.05) . Abundant notochordal cells and extracellular matrix in the nucleus pulposus with well-arranged outer annulus fibrosus were observed in the rats of the sham operation group. The animals of the OVX+V and OVX+SIM groups displayed de-generation of the nucleus pulposus, annulus fibrosus, reduced notochordal cells and their replacement by chondrocyte-like cells in the nucleus pulposus, mucoid degeneration in the matrix, and disruption of the nuclear-annular border in the annulus fibrosus. The disc de-generation scores were significantly higher in the OVX+V and OVX+SIM than in the sham operation group (4.35±0.9 and 3.53±0.42 vs 2.48±0.92, P<0.05). Conclusion OVX induces not only bone loss in vertebrae but also IVD degeneration in rats, while simvasta-tin can partly prevent bone loss in lumbar vertebrae without aggravating IVD degeneration in OVX rats.

BACKGROUND:Previous studies have demonstrated that simvastatin that can promote osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow stromal stem cel s in vitro, is likely to be a new osteogenic drug. While it is stil unknown whether there is time-dependent stimulation of simvastatin on the expressions of bone morphogenetic protein 2 and col agen type I. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the expressions of bone morphogenetic protein 2 and col agen type I in rat bone marrow stromal stem cel s in vitro stimulated by simvastatin at different time points. METHODS:Passage 1 bone marrow stromal cel s were divided into control and simvastatin group, fol owed by cultured in osteogenic differetiation medium with or uithout 10-7 mol/L simvastatin. After 7-day intervention, expression of alkaline phosphatase was detected in passage 3 cel s. Passage 4 cel s were divided and cultured as described above, and afterwards, RNA and proteins were extracted at 12 and 36 hours to detect the expressions of bone morphogenetic protein 2 and col agen type I using real-time PCR and western blot assay. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Both two groups could express alkaline phosphatase, while the rate of positive cel s significantly increased in the simvastatin group compared with the control group (P<0.05);at 12 and 36 hours after intervention, mRNA expressions of bone morphogenetic protein 2 and col agen type I in the simvastatin group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05). Besides, western blot assay showed:at both 12 and 36 hours, simvastatin significantly enhanced the expression of bone morphometric protein 2, while the expression of col agen type I significantly increased at 12 hours (P<0.05), but not at 36 hours. In conclusion, simvastatin can promote the expressions of bone morphometric protein 2 and col agen type I in rat bone marrow stromal cel s, with more favorable outcomes after 12-hour treatment.