Effects of Episodic Alcohol Exposure on BMP2 Signaling During Tibia Fracture Healing
Anthony Bratton1, Joshua Eisenberg1, Aleksandra Vuchkovska1,2
1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation, Loyola University Chicago, Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL.
Objectives:
To explore how alcohol affects the BMP-2 signaling pathway, which is known to play a critical role in bone and cartilage formation during fracture healing.
Methods:
A rat model was used to demonstrate the detrimental effects of alcohol exposure on tibia fracture healing. Specific components of the BMP-2 pathway were analyzed in fracture callus on days 3, 7, 14, and 21 after fracture via western immunoassays and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results:
Alcohol exposure before tibia fracture demonstrated attenuation of downstream BMP-2 signaling. The BMP-2 antagonist, Chordin, may be the central component of the BMP-2-related changes demonstrated in this study. Although alcohol affected BMP-related proteins at all time points, it seems that day 14 after fracture is a critical time point for alcohol-related modulation of callus formation in our model.
Conclusions:
This study may provide the scientific basis for further studies addressing whether the application of exogenous BMP-2 in patients with a history of alcohol abuse who sustain long bone fractures may or may not be of benefit.
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