Model of rabbit femoral head osteonecrosis

Objective To study the histological,Micro-CT,and immunochemical features of a model of rabbit femoral head osteonecrosis induced by lipopolysaccharide（LPS） and methylprednisolone（MPSL）. Methods Twenty-two New Zealand rabbits were divided into experimental group and control group.Rabbits in experimental group were injected with LPS（10μg/kg） followed by injection of MPSL（20mg/kg a day,for 3 days）.The features of Micro-CT bone metrological parameters and histopathology,etc,of the animals were observed after 6 weeks and compared with those that did not receive any drugs. Results Two rabbits died after establishment of the model induced by LPS and MPSL.The osteonecrosis rate of survived rabbits was 80%（16/20）,the rate of empty bone lacunae was 33.6%±2.4%.The indexes of Micro-CT bone metrological parameters were significantly lower in experimental group than in control group.Histopathology showed notable osteonecrosis in the model. Conclusion A model of osteonecrosis can be successfully induced by combined LPS and MPSL.