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Published on: December 18, 2019
Doxercalciferol Alleviates Bone Deteriorations and Cartilage Degeneration in Aging Mice
Jian Li1, Nan Li1, Shuangtong Yan1
1Department of Geriatric Endocrinology, Chinese PLA General Hospital, National Clinical Center of Geriatric Medicine, Beijing, China.
Background:
Age-related bone deteriorations are the common endocrine disorders in the elderly population, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Therefore, effective treatment strategies provide a way to prevent bone loss and improve the quality of life in the elderly population. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-osteoporotic effects of doxercalciferol (DOX) in aging mice.
Methods:
Bone metabolism-related markers were measured by ELISA assay. The expression of bone formation and resorption-related genes was performed by RT-qPCR analysis. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and Safranin O staining were performed to analyze the trabecular bone and cartilage degeneration.
Results:
Aging resulted in urine ca2+ excretion, a decrease in bone ca2+ content and reduction of biomechanical strength in mice. We also found that the level of PTH was increased in aging mice, while DOX administration markedly down-regulated serum PTH in aging mice. H&E and Safranin O staining showed that DOX protected against aging-induced bone loss and cartilage regeneration in the tibia from aging mice. Furthermore, DOX treatment resulted in an increase in Runx2, osterix and Col1a1 mRNA expression and a decrease in Ctsk, MMP-9 and CAII mRNA expression in the tibia from aging mice.
Conclusion:
These findings indicated that DOX had a beneficial effect on age-related bone deteriorations in aging mice by promoting osteoblast activity and cartilage regeneration and inhibiting osteoclast-specific genes expression.
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