Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice >

2020 , Vol. 19 >Issue 03: 238 - 242

DOI: https://doi.org/10.16150/j.1671-2870.2020.03.007

Original article

Three-dimensional imaging of articular cartilage and subchondral bone using synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography in rabbit osteoarthritis model

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  • 1. Department of Radiology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Affiliated Sixth People′s Hospital, Shanghai 200233, China
    2. Department of Imaging, Tong Ren Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200050, China
    3. Shanghai Institute of Applied Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 201800, China

Received date: 2019-12-04

  Online published: 2020-06-25

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Abstract

Objective: To explore the value of synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography (SR-μCT) in the imaging analysis of bone-cartilage unit in rabbit osteoarthritis(OA) model, and to determine the changes of cartilage and subchondral bone in the progress of OA. Methods: A total of 10 healthy male New Zeal and white rabbits aging 6-month were randomly divided into study and control group, 5 animals in each group. To establish OA model, the rabbit in the study group got surgery on the knees using modified Hulth method, while rabbits in the control group were only treated by opening the joint cavity. All the animals were sacrificed 12 weeks later. The samples of bone-cartilage unit collected in the load-bearing area of medial tibial plateau were fixed in formaldehyde solution and dehydrated by an ethanol gradient,and scanned with SR-μCT. All original images were processed by phase retrieval, slicere construction and three-dimensional reconstruction. The image of chondrocytes, the morphology and quantitative parameters of subchondral bone trabe-cula were analyzed. Results: The reconstructed images of SR-μCT could clearly display the chondrocytes, cartilage lacunae and their arrangement. The chondrocytes in the control group were arranged orderly and evenly, and the surface of cartilage was smooth, while chondrocytes in the study group were arranged disorderly and the deep fissures and the surface fibrillations appeared in the cartilage matrix. The subchondral bone trabecular in the control group was also distributedcompletely and evenly, and subchondral bone trabecular in the study group became thinner and locally exfoliated. The quantitative analysis of subchondral bone morphology showed that the bone volume fraction(BVF)(26.64%±1.64% vs 39.00%±2.28%) and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th)[(80.55±5.51) μm vs(102.12±8.02) μm] in the study group were lower than those in the control group(P<0.05). Conclusions: SR-μCT can be used for imaging analysis of bone-cartilage unitat cellular level. Both cartilage degeneration and subchondral bone remodeling play an important role in the development of OA.

Key words： Synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography; Osteoarthritis; Cartilage; Subchondral bone

Cite this article

GENG Jia, XING Yue, HU Yangfan, SI Liping, ZHONG Jingyu, GUO Han, YAO Weiwu . Three-dimensional imaging of articular cartilage and subchondral bone using synchrotron radiation X-ray microtomography in rabbit osteoarthritis model[J]. Journal of Diagnostics Concepts & Practice, 2020 , 19(03) : 238 -242 . DOI: 10.16150/j.1671-2870.2020.03.007

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