Department of Pharmacology, Guangdong Medical College, Dongguan, China.
Planta Med. 2010 Nov;76(16):1809-13. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1250040. Epub 2010 Jun 24.
Glucocorticoids are widely used to treat chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. However, long-term glucocorticoid therapy can result in serious side effects, such as osteoporosis. The present study investigated the preventive effects of berberine on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in rats. Male Sprague Dawley rats were treated with vehicle, glucocorticoid, glucocorticoid and berberine, or glucocorticoid and calcium carbonate with vitamin D (3) for 12 weeks. The proximal tibiae of all rats were processed without decalcification for quantitative bone histomorphometry, and femur mechanical testing as well as bone mineral density (BMD) were analyzed. A significant decrease was found in the glucocorticoid-treated group compared with the control group in such indices as biomechanical quality, BMD, trabecular bone volume/total tissue area (BV/TV), trabecular number (Tb.N), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), mineral apposition rate (MAR), bone formation rate/total tissue area (BFR/TV), and bone formation rate/trabecular bone surface (BFR/BS). In addition, significantly increased trabecular separation (Tb.Sp), osteoclast number/trabecular bone volume (Oc.N/BV), and osteoclast surface/trabecular bone surface (Oc.S/BS) were observed in the glucocorticoid-treated group, compared with the control group. Berberine and calcium carbonate with vitamin D (3) prevented the decrease in biomechanical quality, BMD, BV/TV, Tb.N, Tb.Th, MAR, BFR/TV, and BFR/BS, as well as increased Tb.Sp, Oc.N/BV, and Oc.S/BS in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporotic rats. The present results suggest that berberine prevents glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis by inhibiting bone resorption and improving bone formation.
糖皮质激素被广泛用于治疗类风湿关节炎和哮喘等慢性疾病。然而，长期使用糖皮质激素治疗会导致严重的副作用，如骨质疏松症。本研究探讨了黄连素对糖皮质激素诱导的大鼠骨质疏松症的预防作用。雄性 Sprague Dawley 大鼠分别用载体、糖皮质激素、糖皮质激素和黄连素、或糖皮质激素和碳酸钙加维生素 D（3）处理 12 周。所有大鼠的近段胫骨不经脱钙进行定量骨组织形态计量学分析，以及股骨力学测试和骨密度（BMD）分析。与对照组相比，糖皮质激素处理组的生物力学质量、BMD、小梁骨体积/总体组织面积（BV/TV）、小梁数（Tb.N）、小梁厚度（Tb.Th）、矿化沉积率（MAR）、骨形成率/总体组织面积（BFR/TV）和骨形成率/小梁骨表面（BFR/BS）等指标均显著降低。此外，与对照组相比，糖皮质激素处理组的小梁分离度（Tb.Sp）、破骨细胞数/小梁骨体积（Oc.N/BV）和破骨细胞表面/小梁骨表面（Oc.S/BS）显著增加。黄连素和碳酸钙加维生素 D（3）可预防糖皮质激素诱导的骨质疏松大鼠的生物力学质量、BMD、BV/TV、Tb.N、Tb.Th、MAR、BFR/TV 和 BFR/BS 降低，以及 Tb.Sp、Oc.N/BV 和 Oc.S/BS 增加。本研究结果表明，黄连素通过抑制骨吸收和改善骨形成来预防糖皮质激素诱导的骨质疏松症。
