Cyasterone has a protective effect on steroid-induced Osteonecrosis of the femoral head

CONTEXT: Cyasterone alleviated the apoptosis of BMSCs induced by Dexamethasone via the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In addition, Cyasterone had a protective effect on SIONFH model rats by reducing the percentage of empty bone lacunae. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of Cyasterone on apoptosis of rat BMSCs and its function on the SIONFH rat model. METHODS: Rat BMSCs were cultured and divided into Control, DXM and Cyasterone (DXM+Cyasterone) groups. The apoptosis of each group was detected by flow cytometry, the expressions of Caspase-3 and Caspase-9 were detected by immunofluorescence staining, and the mRNA and protein expressions of AKT, BAX, P53, P85, Bcl-2 and Cytochrome C were detected by qPCR and WB. In animal experiments, the femoral head of rats were subjected to HE staining and Micro-CT to observe the necrosis and repair conditions. RESULTS: The apoptosis rate of DXM and Cyasterone groups increased compared with Control group, and the apoptosis rate of Cyasterone group decreased compared with DXM group. Compared with DXM group, the mRNA expression of BAX, P53, P85 and Cytochrome C in Cyasterone group were increased, while the protein expression of AKT and Bcl-2 decreased. The histopathological and morphological analysis showed that Cyasterone promoted the trabecular bone structure in rat, which evenly benefit for the repair of SIONFH. CONCLUSION: Cyasterone can reduce the apoptosis of rat BMSCs induced by Dexamethasone, and help promoting the bone repair in SIONFH rats.