After approval from the Animal Ethical Committee of Xi’an Jiaotong University, 36 28-week-old male New Zealand white rabbits (4 ± 0.5 kg) from the Experimental Animal Center of Xi’an Jiaotong University, China were included in this study. All experimental animals were housed under standard conditions.
Rabbits were randomized into 3 groups: the normal group (N = 12), the model group (N = 12) and the BADGE group (N = 12). Osteonecrosis of femurs was induced using methods presented in the previously published protocols [16 (link)]. Briefly, one injection of 10 μg/kg body weight of lipopolysaccharide (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) was administered intravenously. Twenty-four hours later, three injections of 20 mg/kg body weight of methylprednisolone (Pfizer, USA) were administered intramuscularly, at a time interval of 24 h. Osteonecrosis gradually developed in femurs 6 weeks after injection of methylprednisolone. In the model group, the rabbits were treated with vehicle. In the BADGE group, the rabbits received treatment for a total of 6 weeks with BADGE(daily intra-peritoneal injection of 10 mg/kg in 15% DMSO). The doses and durations of treatment of BADGE were determined based on a previously published study [15 (link)]. Body weight of the rabbits were measured each week.
Rabbits were randomized into 3 groups: the normal group (N = 12), the model group (N = 12) and the BADGE group (N = 12). Osteonecrosis of femurs was induced using methods presented in the previously published protocols [16 (link)]. Briefly, one injection of 10 μg/kg body weight of lipopolysaccharide (Sigma, St. Louis, MO, USA) was administered intravenously. Twenty-four hours later, three injections of 20 mg/kg body weight of methylprednisolone (Pfizer, USA) were administered intramuscularly, at a time interval of 24 h. Osteonecrosis gradually developed in femurs 6 weeks after injection of methylprednisolone. In the model group, the rabbits were treated with vehicle. In the BADGE group, the rabbits received treatment for a total of 6 weeks with BADGE(daily intra-peritoneal injection of 10 mg/kg in 15% DMSO). The doses and durations of treatment of BADGE were determined based on a previously published study [15 (link)]. Body weight of the rabbits were measured each week.
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