Levodopa attenuates cellular apoptosis in steroid-associated necrosis of the femoral head

Xi, Hongbo; Tao, Weijian; Jian, Zhengguang; Sun, Xuefeng; Gong, Xiaohong; Huang, Lixin; Dong, Tianhua

The results of the present study demonstrated that the animals in group B exhibited a more typically shaped femoral head with no collapse on dual-hip X-ray at the 8th week, and the bone density was uniformly increased, which was distinct from the group A. Histopathological analysis showed that the bone trabecular structures were substantially complete and arranged regularly with no continuous interruption, although partial empty bone lacunae were visible. The average rate of empty bone lacunae was 25.97±6.29% in group B, which was significantly lower than group A (33.86±8.38%) and significantly higher than group C (11.83±2.45%). The necrotic area exhibited the repair of fibrous tissues; the osteoblasts were increased, the capillaries were proliferated, and the osteoblasts were active. These findings showed that LEV was able to reduce the incidence of NFH; furthermore, LEV accelerated the repair of necrotic areas. TUNEL assay results demonstrated that the treatment group exhibited scattered positive cells with brown particles inside the partial bone nuclei, with AI as 120.67 ± 13.13%, which was significantly lower than that of group A (202.02±18.99%). These findings suggest that LEV may reduce the apoptosis of bone cells, thereby preventing NFH. The results showed that the serum IGF-1 levels in group B were significantly increased, compared with group A, indicating the biological pathway of LEV may function through the promotion the synthesis and release of IGF-1, thus reducing bone cellular apoptosis, reducing the incidence of NFH, and accelerating the repair of necrotic areas.