Abstract
BackgroundTo better understand bone fragility in type 2 diabetes mellitus and define the contribution of microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) to the evaluation of bone microarchitecture and vascularisation, we conducted an in vitro preliminary study on the femur of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats and Zucker lean (ZL) rats. We first analysed bone microarchitecture, then determined whether micro-CT allowed to explore bone vascularisation, and finally looked for a link between these parameters.MethodsEight ZDF and six ZL rats were examined for bone microarchitecture (group 1), and six ZDF and six ZL rats were studied for bone vascularisation after Microfil® perfusion which is a radiopaque casting agent (group 2). In group 1, we used micro-CT to examine the trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture of the femoral head, neck, shaft, and distal metaphysis. In group 2, micro-CT was used to study the blood vessels in the head, neck, and distal metaphysis.ResultsCompared to ZL rats, the ZDF rats exhibited significantly lower trabecular bone volume and number and higher trabecular separation in the three locations (p = 0.02, p = 0.02, p = 0.003). Cortical porosity was significantly higher in the ZDF rats at the neck and shaft (p = 0.001 and p = 0.005). We observed a dramatically poorer bone vascularisation in the femur of ZDF rats, especially in distal metaphysis (p < 0.047).ConclusionsMicro-CT demonstrated not only significant alterations in the bone microarchitecture of the femurs of ZDF rats, but also significant alterations in bone vascularisation. Further studies are required to demonstrate the causal link between poor vascularisation and impaired bone architecture.
Highlights
To better understand bone fragility in type 2 diabetes mellitus and define the contribution of microcomputed tomography to the evaluation of bone microarchitecture and vascularisation, we conducted an in vitro preliminary study on the femur of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats and Zucker lean (ZL) rats
8 ZDF and 6 ZL rats were investigated for bone microarchitecture, while 6 ZDF and 6 ZL rats were studied for bone vascularisation
The 24-week-old ZDF and ZL rats had an average weight of 439.4 ± 16.35 g and 387.2 ± 10.35 g, respectively
Summary
To better understand bone fragility in type 2 diabetes mellitus and define the contribution of microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) to the evaluation of bone microarchitecture and vascularisation, we conducted an in vitro preliminary study on the femur of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats and Zucker lean (ZL) rats. Morbidity and mortality of this disease are mainly due to vascular complications, but more recently, increased risk of fractures has emerged as a serious complication in patients with long-standing or Zeitoun et al European Radiology Experimental (2019) 3:17 poorly controlled disease [2, 3]. This increased risk of fractures has a distinct propensity for the proximal end of the femur [4,5,6,7] and vertebrae [8] and is problematic because patients with T2DM exhibit compromised bone fracture healing and poorer outcomes after fracture [9,10,11]. Definitive elucidation of the pathogenesis of these abnormalities will require further studies
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