Lithium chloride prevents glucocorticoid-induced osteonecrosis of femoral heads and strengthens mesenchymal stem cell activity in rats.

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidence suggests that lithium influences mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) proliferation and osteogenic differentiation. As decreased bone formation in femoral heads is induced by glucocorticoids (GCs), we hypothesized that lithium has a protective effect on GC-induced osteonecrosis of femoral heads (ONFH). METHODS: A rat ONFH model was induced by methylprednisolone (MP) and the effect of lithium chloride on the models was evaluated. Micro-computed tomography (CT)-based angiography and bone scanning were performed to analyze the vessels and bone structure in the femoral heads. Hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemical staining were performed to evaluate the trabecular structure and osteocalcin (OCN) expression, respectively. Bone marrow-derived MSCs were isolated from the models, and their proliferative and osteogenic ability was evaluated. Western blotting and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction were performed to detect osteogenic-related proteins including Runx2, alkaline phosphatase, and Collagen I. RESULTS: Micro-CT analysis showed a high degree of osteonecrotic changes in the rats that received only MP injection. Treatment with lithium reduced this significantly in rats that received lithium (MP + Li group); while 18/20 of the femoral heads in the MP showed severe osteonecrosis, only 5/20 in the MP + Li showed mild osteonecrotic changes. The MP + Li group also displayed a higher vessel volume than the MP group (0.2193 mm3vs. 0.0811 mm3, P < 0.05), shown by micro-CT-based angiography. Furthermore, histological analysis showed better trabecular structures and more OCN expression in the femoral heads of the MP + Li group compared with the MP group. The ex vivo investigation indicated higher proliferative and osteogenic ability and upregulated osteogenic-related proteins in MSCs extracted from rats in the MP + Li group than that in the MP group. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that lithium chloride has a significant protective effect on GC-induced ONFH in rats and that lithium also enhances MSC proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in rats after GC administration.

Magnetic hydroxyapatite nanoworms for magnetic resonance diagnosis of acute hepatic injury.

Inorganic non-metallic biomaterials, including the silicon frustule of a unicellular diatom, the carbonate shell of a mollusk and the calcium skeleton of the vertebrate, which are the main constituent part of an organism, serve as the supportive and protective components of soft tissue. Among them, hydroxyapatite, which primarily makes up the enamel and bone, is widely used in tissue engineering. Recently, the inorganic nonmetallic biomaterials, especially the applications of hydroxyapatites have attracted great attention. Herein, we report a novel synthesis method of magnetic functionalized hydroxyapatite nanocomposites. By simply tuning the ratios of reactants, a series of hydroxyapatite-Fe3O4 worm-shaped nanocomposites (HAP-ION nanoworms) are obtained. In addition, layer-by-layer surface modifications with chitosan (CH) and sodium alginate (SA) were employed to improve the solubility and biocompatibility, and low cytotoxicity and no hemolysis were observed. With the increase of iron oxide nanocrystals, the magnetic properties of the magnetic assembled nanoworms were enhanced, which resulted in better performance of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Owing to the intravenous injection of HAP-ION nanoworms, the contrast to noise ratio (CNR) of hepatic MR imaging in vivo was enhanced obviously, which should be beneficial for hepatic injury grading and further therapeutic treatment.

Monodisperse mesocrystals of YF3 and Ce3+/Ln3+ (Ln=Tb, Eu) co-activated YF3: shape control synthesis, luminescent properties, and biocompatibility.

A family of monodisperse YF(3), YF(3):Ce(3+) and YF(3):Ce(3+)/Ln(3+) (Ln=Tb, Eu) mesocrystals with a morphology of a hollow spindle can be synthesized by a solvothermal process using yttrium nitrate and NH(4) F as precursors. The effects of reaction time, fluorine source, solvents, and reaction temperature on the synthesis of these mesocrystals have been studied in detail. The results demonstrate that the formation of a hollow spindle-like YF(3) can be ascribed to a nonclassical crystallization process by means of a particle-based reaction route in ethanol. It has been shown that the fluorine sources selected have a remarkable effect on the morphologies and crystalline phases of the final products. Moreover, the luminescent properties of Ln(3+)-doped and Ce(3+)/Ln(3+) -co-doped spindle-like YF(3) mesocrystals were also investigated. It turns out that Ce(3+) is an efficient sensitizer for Ln(3+) in the spindle-like YF(3) mesocrystals. Remarkable fluorescence enhancement was observed in Ce(3+)/Ln(3+) -co-doped YF(3) mesocrystals. The mechanism of the energy transfer and electronic transition between Ce(3+) and Ln(3+) in the host material of YF(3) mesocrystals was also explored. The cytotoxicity study revealed that these YF(3) -based nanocrystals are biocompatible for applications, such as cellular imaging.