Effects of leptin on femoral fracture in rats

Lei Wang; Sixin Sun; Lei Yang; Chun Lu; Xiaojian Cao

摘要：In this study,our objective was to evaluate effects of leptin on fracture healing in rats.Seventy two male SpragueDawley (SD) rats were randomized into 3 groups.Standardized femoral fractures were created in all the rats.Group A was treated with 1 mL normal saline (NS),group B with 0.3 μg/kg leptin in 1 mL NS,and group C with 0.5 μg/kg leptin in 1 mL NS for 2 weeks intraperitoneally.Each group was divided into three subgroups including 8 rats for evaluation at 2,4 and 8 weeks.Radiological evaluation showed that callus formation of group B and C was all significantly higher than group A at 8 weeks (P=0.04 and P=0.013,respectively).There was no statistically significant difference in fracture healing between group B and group C at 8 weeks (P=0.197).Histological evaluation revealed fracture healing of group B and C was better than group A at 4 weeks (P =0.01 and P =0.002,respectively) and 8 weeks (P =0.008 and P =0.003,respectively).Micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) analysis demonstrated that greater amounts of bony callus and evidence of bone fusion were observed in group B and C at 4 weeks (P =0.02 and P =0.04,respectively) and 8 weeks (P =0.005 and P =0.001,respectively) compared to group A.Group C also had better fracture healing than group B at 8 weeks (P =0.01).In conclusion,leptin has a positive effect on rat femoral fracture healing.