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. 2019 Apr 11;3(1):17.
doi: 10.1186/s41747-019-0094-5.

Microcomputed tomography of the femur of diabetic rats: alterations of trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture and vasculature-a feasibility study

David Zeitoun  1 , Guavri Caliaperoumal  2 , Morad Bensidhoum  2 , Jean Marc Constans  3 , Fani Anagnostou  2 , Valérie Bousson  4
Affiliations

Microcomputed tomography of the femur of diabetic rats: alterations of trabecular and cortical bone microarchitecture and vasculature-a feasibility study

David Zeitoun et al. Eur Radiol Exp. .

Abstract

Background: 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. We first analysed bone microarchitecture, then determined whether micro-CT allowed to explore bone vascularisation, and finally looked for a link between these parameters.

Methods: Eight 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.

Results: Compared 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).

Conclusions: Micro-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.

Keywords: Bone and bones; Diabetes mellitus (type 2); Rats (Zucker); Vascular diseases; X-ray microtomography.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics Committee of the University Paris Diderot (N°01610.01/S69), Paris, France.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Comparison of trabecular bone between a Zucker lean rat (ZL, left) and a Zucker diabetic fatty rat (ZDF, right). Axial images of the femoral head, neck, and distal metaphysis. Decreased bone volume and trabecular number in ZDF rats compared to ZL rats, in the three volumes of interest
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Trabecular bone characteristics of Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) and Zucker lean (ZL) rats. There were significant differences between ZDF and ZL rats concerning the number and the separation of trabeculae in the head, neck, and distal metaphysis. Trabecular thickness was significantly different only in the head
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Comparison of cortical porosity between a Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat and a Zucker lean ZL rat. Axial images of the femoral neck of ZL (a) and ZDF (b) rats, and the femoral shaft of ZL (c) and ZDF (d) rats. Cortical porosity was higher in ZDF compared to ZL rats, in the two locations
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Vascularisation of distal metaphysis of Zucker lean (ZL) rats and Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats, coronal and axial three-dimensional view. There was a lower vascular volume and number in ZDF rats as compared to ZL rats
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