• Yu-gang Liu, Yue Zhou, Xu Hu, Jian-jun Fu, Yong Pan, and Tong-wei Chu.
• Department of Orthopaedics, Xinqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China.
• J Trauma. 2011 Jun 1;70(6):1519-23.

BackgroundOur objective was to observe the role of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) 121 gene transfer in promoting vascular reconstruction and bone repair in femur head necrosis of rabbits.MethodsThe femoral head necrosis model was induced by injection with ethanol. The necrotic femoral head was transfected with a human adenoviral vector expressing VEGF (Ad-hVEGF121). Bone formation in the subchondral necrotic region was analyzed using histology, by measuring the bone mineral density value, and by observing bone trabecular morphology using image analysis.ResultsRevascularization level, bone formation rate, bone quality and quantity, and mineralization level in the subchondral necrotic region of the gene transfection group were significantly higher than the control groups. The control groups had more subchondral bone resorption compared with the gene transfection group.ConclusionVEGF might promote bone formation and revascularization in the subchondral necrotic region of the femoral head, indirectly protecting the necrotic bone trabecula from absorption and avoiding a reduction in the mechanical function of the subchondral region.

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