Ortho-silicic Acid Prevents Glucocorticoid-Induced Femoral Head Necrosis by Promoting Akt Phosphorylation to Inhibit Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress-Mediated Apoptosis and Enhance Angiogenesis and Osteogenesis

We examined the influence of ortho-silicic acid (OSA, Si(OH)4) on the apoptosis and proliferation of vascular endothelial cells after glucocorticoid induction. Additionally, we evaluated the expression of apoptosis-related genes such as cleaved-caspase-3, Bcl-2 and Bax. The impact of glucocorticoids and OSA on the function of vascular endothelial cells was evaluated through wound healing, transwell and angiogenesis assays. Osteogenic function was subsequently evaluated through alizarin red staining, alkaline phosphatase staining and expression levels of osteogenic genes like RUNX2 and ALP. Moreover, we investigated the potential role of OSA in vivo using the SONFH animal model. At concentrations below 100 μM, OSA exhibits no toxicity on vascular endothelial cells and effectively reverses glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in these cells. OSA increases the resilience of vascular endothelial cells against oxidative stress and enhances osteoblast differentiation. Our study revealed that glucocorticoids activate endoplasmic reticulum stress, a process that mediates the apoptosis of vascular endothelial cells. OSA ameliorated the endoplasmic reticulum stress associated with glucocorticoids through the increased expression of p-Akt levels. In vivo, OSA treatment effectively improved SONFH by enhancing vascular endothelial cell function and promoting osteogenic differentiation. OSA counteracted the adverse effects of glucocorticoids both in vitro and in vivo, demonstrating a benefici...

Source: Biological Trace Element Research - January 4, 2024 Category: Biology Authors: Zhenqian Sun Jian Wang Zhongjie Ji Jinlong Ma Yunzhen Chen Guangjun Jiao Source Type: research