The expression of endogenous hydrogen sulfide signal during distraction osteogenesis in a rabbit model

The hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) signal system plays an important role in bone metabolism. However, the role of endogenous H₂S during distraction osteogenesis (DO) remains unclear. Sixty-two male New Zealand White rabbits were subjected to right mandibular DO. Before distraction, the animals were divided randomly into two groups: group A, 0.5mm twice/day for 10 days; group B, 1.25mm twice/day for 4 days. Plasma and distraction gap tissue were harvested to determine the H₂S signal. The osteogenesis effect was also evaluated. The newly regenerated bone in group A presented a higher level of mineralization and biomechanical strength than that in group B. The bone mineralization density in group A was 1.95-fold that in group B (P=0.028), while the biomechanical strength in group A was 1.26-fold that in group B (P=0.042) at the end of the experiment. The H₂S signal was detected during the whole process of DO. The relative plasma H₂S concentrations in group A were noticeably higher than those in group B at the middle of distraction (P<0.001), at the end of the distraction (P=0.034), and 2 weeks after the end of distraction (P=0.002). The results suggest that the endogenous H₂S signal system plays a major role during DO.