Chinese Medicine Intervenes in NLRP3 Inflammasome in Treatment of Bone and Joint Diseases： A Review / 中国实验方剂学杂志

The prevalence of osteoporosis， osteoarthritis， gouty arthritis， rheumatoid arthritis， and intervertebral disc degeneration is increasing year by year with the growing number of elderly people， and the common clinical manifestations of these diseases include severe pain in different areas， which seriously affects the daily life of the patients. Therefore， how to relieve the pain and reduce the prevalence of bone and joint diseases and improve the quality of life of the patients is a hot spot in the medical field. Studies have confirmed that NOD-like receptor family， pyrin domain-containing protein 3 （NLRP3） inflammasomes， as pattern recognition receptors， are involved in the inflammation， chondrocyte proliferation， osteoblast and osteoclast differentiation， intervertebral disc cell inflammation and scorching， extracellular matrix degradation and apoptosis， mitochondrial dysfunction， endoplasmic reticulum stress， and reactive oxygen species damage， demonstrating close link with the development of bone and joint diseases. Chinese medicine has a long history and demonstrates remarkable therapeutic effects in the treatment of bone and joint diseases. It can mitigate the pathological changes of bone and joint diseases by inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasomes to alleviate the pain， playing a role in preventing and treating these diseases. Therefore， this paper briefly describes the relationship between NLRP3 inflammasomes and the development of bone and joint diseases by reviewing the latest research progress at home and abroad. We summarize the latest studies about the active components， extracts， and compound prescriptions of Chinese medicines in the treatment of bone and joint diseases via regulating NLRP3 inflammasomes. This review is expected to offer new insights into the in-depth research on the pathogenesis and drug treatment of bone and joint diseases and provide a basis for the clinical application of Chinese medicine in the prevention and treatment of such diseases.

Bibliometrics and visualized analysis of research hotspots and current status in clinical management of osteoporotic fractures / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective:Based on Web of Science database, this study aimed to explore the current status, research hotspots and development trends of countries regarding clinical management of osteoporotic fractures using bibliometrics and visualized analysis.Methods:We collected literatures in the field of clinical management of osteoporotic fractures included in Web of Science database, and applied bibliometrics to analyze the publication dates, countries, institutions, journals, authors, highly cited literatures and research hotspots. Visualization was drawn by VOSviewer software.Results:Analysis of the 2 508 articles revealed 3 types of data. (1) The analysis of basic information of the literature showed that: ①The country with the largest number of publications was the United States, which published 672 articles, followed by the United Kingdom and Canada, and China ranked fourth; ②The top three authors in the number of publications were Kanis JA, Cooper C and McCloskey EV respectively; ③The institution with the highest number of publications was the University of Sheffield, UK, followed by the University of Southampton, UK and the University of Toronto, Canada. (2) Network visualization of highly cited literatures showed that 118 highly cited literatures were mainly divided into 5 clusters, which were related to osteoporotic fracture diagnosis, treatment, medication adherence, management consensus and strategies of preventing refracture. (3) Temporal overlay visualization of research hotspots showed that early research mainly focused on traditional therapeutic drugs, and current research hotspots were mainly molecular targeted drugs, trabecular bone score and fracture liaison services.Conclusion:This study shows that the research activity of clinical management of osteoporotic fractures is increasing worldwide, and there is still a huge gap between China and Europe or the United States. Current research hotspots and development trends mainly focus on molecular targeted drugs, osteoporotic fracture treatment concepts, emerging fracture risk assessment tools, and fracture prevention and management models.

Testosterone Deficiency Promotes Hypercholesteremia and Attenuates Cholesterol Liver Uptake via AR/PCSK9/LDLR Pathways.

Background: Testosterone deficiency is reportedly correlated with an elevation of cholesterol in plasma, but the mechanism remains unclear. Our objective was to investigate the effects of testosterone deficiency on cholesterol metabolism and the corresponding molecular changes in vivo and in vitro. Methods: SD rats were randomized into three groups: sham-operated (SHAM), subtotal orchiectomized (SO), and orchiectomized (ORX) and fed for 8 weeks. HepG2 cells were cultured with medium containing testosterone with the final concentrations of 0, 10, 30, and 300 nM. Method of isotope tracing and fluorescence labelling was adopted to investigate cholesterol metabolism. Several key molecules of cholesterol metabolism were also analyzed. Results: SO and ORX rats displayed dysfunctional liver uptake of cholesterol. HepG2 cells incubated with testosterone of lower and excessive level exhibited reduced capacity of cholesterol uptake. Further investigation revealed that lack of testosterone induced increased proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) and decreased low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, the androgen receptor (AR) antagonist flutamide mimicked the effects of testosterone deficiency on PCSK9 and LDLR indicating the role of AR as a mediator in triggering attenuating liver cholesterol uptake in which testosterone instead of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) is the major functional form of androgen. Conclusion: Testosterone deficiency attenuated cholesterol liver uptake mediated by the PCSK9-LDLR pathway, in which AR and testosterone without transforming to DHT play important roles.

Early numerical rating scale and Oswestry disability index in postmenopausal osteoporosis treated with denosumab / 中华骨科杂志

Objective:To compare the numerical rating scales (NRS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) of denosumab in Chinese postmenopausal osteoporosis patients after 3 months, and analyze the early adverse reactions to provide reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:Using a prospective study method, 260 patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis who were outpatients and inpatients in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University from September 2020 to October 2021 were selected, and general information, including age, height, weight, bone mineral density, history of fragility fractures, and use of anti-osteoporosis drugs. All subjects received denosumab 60 mg subcutaneously, and were given calcium and vitamin D at the same time. Pain was scored by NRS before treatment and 3 months after treatment, and functional improvement was assessed by ODI.Results:After 3 months of denosumab treatment in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, among patients with different age groups, different degrees of osteoporosis, history of fragility fractures, and history of use of anti-osteoporosis drugs, NRS score and ODI score were lower than those before treatment, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05). In addition, in patients with a history of fragility fractures (mainly vertebral fractures), the NRS scores and the ODI score decreased more significantly, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05); the NRS score and ODI score decreased more significantly in patients with severe osteoporosis than in patients with osteoporosis, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05); the BMD value of lumbar spine was negatively correlated with the reduction of NRS score before and after treatment ( P=0.042). In this study, 260 patients had musculoskeletal pain in 6 (2.3%), fatigue in 5 (1.9%), rash in 4 (1.5%), urinary tract infection in 2 (0.7%), and dizziness in 2 (0.7%), 2 case of fever (0.7%), 1 case of hypocalcemia (0.4%), a total of 22 cases of adverse reactions were reported, and the overall adverse reaction rate was 8.5%. Conclusion:Denosumab can improve pain symptoms and functional disability early in the clinical application of Chinese postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, and the incidence of adverse reactions is low. Especially for postmenopausal female osteoporosis patients with severe osteoporosis, low lumbar spine bone density, and a history of fragility fractures (mainly vertebral fractures), the application effect is more significant.

Study on the iron accumulation-induced bone loss and hematopoietic autophagy dysfunction / 中华内分泌代谢杂志

Objective:Iron accumulation is related to the occurrence of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Meanwhile, autophagy abnormality of bone marrow hematopoietic cells is observed in hip osteoporotic fracture. This study is performed to investigate correlation between iron accumulation induced bone loss and hematopoietic autophagy dysfunction to explore the new risk factor of osteoporosis.Methods:Male iron accumulation mice model was established by intraperitoneally injecting ferric ammonium citrate. Serum ferritin and osteogenic indicator P1NP were tested by ELISA. Bone mineral density was measured by micro-CT. Femur and tibia bone marrows were collected for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells proportion and cell apoptosis analysis. Autolysosome formation was measured by image flow cytometry. We used conditional mouse model Atg7 flox/flox; Vav-Cre(Atg7 -/-) in which Atg7 had been genetically deleted in the hematopoietic system. Bone marrow hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were collected for RNA sequence. micro-CT scan was conducted for Atg7 -/- femur. Results:Ferritin level of iron accumulation mice was significantly higher than control group( P<0.05). Iron accumulation inhibited P1NP and induced decreased bone mineral density( P<0.05). Iron accumulation bone marrow displayed enhanced hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells proportion( P<0.05), with more cell apoptosis( P<0.05). Hematopoietic autophagy was deteriorated in iron accumulation bone marrow. Transcriptomic profiling showed up-regulation of iron activity in Atg7 -/- mice, with increased iron homeostasis and iron membrane transporter genes, including Lcn2, Tfr2, Slc40a1(Fpn1), Steap3, and Cpox. micro-CT revealed severe bone loss and decreased bone mineral density in Atg7 -/- mice( P<0.05). Conclusion:Iron accumulation induced bone loss is related to inhibition of hematopoietic cells. Hematopoietic autophagy dysfunction is associated with bone loss.