Effects of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide on the Expression and Activity of Nitric Oxide Synthase During Mandibular Bone Healing in Rabbits: An Experimental Study

Li, Yan; Tan, Yinghui; Zhang, Gang; Yang, Bo; Zhang, Jianshe

doi:10.1016/j.joms.2008.06.077

« Previous Next »Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Volume 67, Issue 2 , Pages 273-279, February 2009

Effects of Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide on the Expression and Activity of Nitric Oxide Synthase During Mandibular Bone Healing in Rabbits: An Experimental Study

Yan Li, DDS
- Resident Surgeon, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Xingqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
Yinghui Tan, DDS, PhD
- Professor and Chief Surgeon, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Xingqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Tan: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Xingqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400037, PR China
Gang Zhang, DDS, PhD
- Attending Surgeon and Lecturer, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Xingqiao Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
Bo Yang, DDS
- Attending Surgeon, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chengdu Army General Hospital, Chengdu, People's Republic of China
Jianshe Zhang, MD, DDS
- Professor and Chief Surgeon, Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Chengdu Army General Hospital, Chengdu, People's Republic of China

Purpose

Previous studies have found that calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) takes part in the local regulation of bone growth and metabolism. However, the detailed regulatory mechanism of CGRP in the bone healing has not been explored. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects and the regulatory mechanism of CGRP on the expression and activity of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in bony callus during mandibular defect healing.

Materials and Methods

To determine the effect of CGRP on bony callus, a bone defect in the left mandible was created in 48 adult rabbits (divided randomly into experimental and control group) and half of them underwent inferior alveolar nerve amputation. The bony callus were collected 4, 7, 14, and 28 days after operation, and the expressions of CGRP and NOS in the paraffin slices were analyzed with immunohistochemical staining. The activity of calcium-dependent nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in the fresh specimens were measured with the NOS detecting kit.

Results

In the immunohistochemical analysis of bony callus, the immunohistochemical stain of CGRP was lower in experimental groups than in control groups from 4 to 14 days (P < .05 or P < .01), and the stain of eNOS showed the same phenomena from 4 to 7 days (P < .01), but the stain of iNOS did not show any statistical difference. In the NOS activity analysis, the activity of cNOS was lower in experimental groups than in control groups from 4 to 7 days (P < .05 or P < .01), and the activity of iNOS was lower in experimental groups than in control groups from 7 to 14 days (P < .01).

Conclusion

The expression and activity of NOS has a positive correlation with CGRP expression during bone healing. CGRP may promote fracture healing via regulating the expression and the activity of NOS.