Relationship among bone mineral density, collagen composition, and biomechanical properties of callus in the healing of osteoporotic fracture.
OBJECTIVE
To study the change and relationship among bone mineral density (BMD), collagen composition and biomechanical properties of the callus in the healing process of osteoporotic fracture.


METHODS
The osteoporotic rat model and fracture model were established through bilateral ovariectomy (OVX) and osteotomy of the middle shaft of the right hind tibiae, respectively. Ninety female SD rats were randomly divided into OVX group and sham group. With the samples of blood and callus, roentgenographic and histological observation were performed for the assessment of the healing progress of the fracture, and the serum concentration of TRAP-5b, proportion of type I collagen, BMD and biomechanical properties of the callus were measured.


RESULTS
The OVX group experienced a significant delay of fracture healing. The mean serum concentration of TRAP-5b of rats in the OVX group was much higher than that in the sham group after the operation (P less than 0.05), but the difference at the same time point after fracture was smaller than that before fracture (P less than 0.05). The BMD of the callus in both groups reached the peak value at the 6 th week after fracture while the proportion of the type I collagen and the biomechanical strength reached the peak at the 8th week.


CONCLUSIONS
The deficiency of estrogen after the ovariectomy could induce the up-regulation of the osteoclasts activities, whereas the potency of further activation after fracture was depressed. Although the synthesis of collagen together with its mineralization determines the biomechanical properties of new bone, the accumulation of collagen could be assessed as an index in the prediction of biomechanical strength of bones independent of the bone mineral deposition.
Department of Orthopaedics, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China. shenbin71@hotmail.com
Bin
B
Shen
Jian-xiong
JX
Mu
Fu-xing
FX
Pei
D000135:Acid Phosphatase / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D015519:Bone Density; D002146:Bony Callus / Q000502:physiology*; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry*; D024042:Collagen Type I / Q000097:blood; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000502:physiology*; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase
D024042:Collagen Type I; D007527:Isoenzymes; D003094:Collagen; D000135:Acid Phosphatase; D000071681:Tartrate-Resistant Acid Phosphatase