Roles of osteocyte apoptosis in steroid-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head

摘要

An animal model of steroid-induced avascular necrosis of the femoral head (SANFH) was established to investigate the roles of osteocyte apoptosis in this process. Forty five-month-old male and female Japanese white rabbits were randomly divided into groups A (hormone + endotoxin), B (hormone alone), C (endotoxin alone), and D (blank control). Animals were sacrificed two and four weeks following the final treatment (N = 5 for each group at each time point). Bilateral femoral heads were fixed and decalcified, and empty lacunae were counted by hematoxylin staining. At weeks 2 and 4, the empty lacunae percentage was significantly higher in group A than that in groups B, C, or D (P 0.05). However, at week 4, the apoptotic index was significantly higher in group A than that in groups B, C, or D (P r = 0.893). We conclude that osteocyte apoptosis plays an important role in SANFH.