Objective To review the recent research progress on relationshi p between subchondral bone and cartilage degeneration in osteoarthritis (OA), and to predict future research directions. Methods Recent l iteratures about the pathological changes of subchondral bone in OA were reviewed and analyzed in terms of biomechanics, bone remodel ingand biological factors. Results Subchondral bone sclerosis or softening was the result of osteoarthritis and also closely related to the occurrence and development of OA. Inhibiting the bone metabol ism of subchondral bone could slow the degeneration of articular cartilage. Conclusion For the treatment of OA, it is necessary to pay close attention to cartilage changes and the prevention of subchondral bone degeneration.
Objective To investigate the changes in the expression level of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) in the bone callus of rats with femoral fracture and brain injury to explore the effect of the brain injury on the fracture healing and to explore the related mechanism. Methods Thirty-two 12 week old SD rats weighing 368±25 g were randomly divided into 4 groups of 8 rats in each. The rats in Group A had a femoral fracture and a brain injury for 1 week; the rats in Group B had a femoral fracture but without brain injury for 1 week; the rats in Group C had a fracture and a brain injury for 2 weeks; and the rats in Group D had a fracture but without brain injury for 2 weeks. Thus, Groups A and C were used as the femoral fracture and brain injury models, and Groups B and D as the pure femoral fracture models for the controlled study. After the X-ray films were taken, the bone callus was obtained 1 week and 2 weeks after operation, respectively. Then, the bone callus growth and its histology were examined with theHE staining, the expression and changes in the level of BMP-2 were examined with the immunohistochemical staining, and the level of BMP-2 mRNA was measured with the RT-PCR. Results The X-ray films showed that less bone callus formation was found in Group A, and the fracture line in Group B was clearer than that in Group A. There was a greater amount of callus in Group C, and the fracture line was blurred. Only a little bone callus formation was found in Group D. The HE staining indicated that more fibroblasts and early-stage chondrocytes were found in Group A; some fibroblasts in the fracture interspace and fewer early-stage chondrocytes in Group B; some newly-formed trabecular bone at the end of the fracture in Group C; but no trabecular bone formation in Group D. The immunohistochemical staining indicated that the positive expression of BMP2 was b in the cytoplasms of the fibroblasts, the mesenchymal cells, the vascular endothelial cells, the early-stage chondrocytes, and the osteoblasts. The number of the positive cells was greater in Group A than in Group B, with a higher color intensity. The number of the positive cells was greater in Group C than in Group D, with a higher color intensity. The percentages of the cells positive for BMP-2 in the callus were greater in Groups A and C (0.762%±0.052%，0.756%±0.079%)than in Groups B and D (0.702%±0.052%，0.672%±0.044%) at the same time point, ith a statistically significant difference (Plt;0.05). The RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of BMP-2 mRNA in the callus in Groups A-D was decreased in sequence. There was a significantly higher level of the expression in Groups A and C(1.07±0.13，0.78±0.11) than in Groups B and D(0.91±0.12，0.61±0.08) at the same time point (Plt;0.05). Conclusion The brain injury can promote the fracture healing process, which is probably related to an increase in the expression level of BMP-2 after the brain injury.