Inhibiting osteoclasts and osteoclast precursors to reduce bone resorption is an important strategy to treat osteoclast-related diseases, such as peri-prosthetic osteolysis. In this study, our objective was to study the role of zoledronic acid (ZA), as a highly potent and nitrogen-containing bisphosphonate, in promoting osteogenesis and inhibiting osteoclastogenesis properties of magnesium (Mg)-based implants. ZA was chemically associated with calcium phosphate (CaP) deposited on magnesium-strontium (Mg-Sr) alloy, which was confirmed by the morphological observation, phase composition and drug releasing via SEM, XRD spectrum and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC), respectively. The in vitro performances indicated that ZA-CaP bilayer coating Mg-Sr alloy could enhance the proliferation and the osteogenic differentiation as well as the mineralization of pre-osteoblasts, however, induce the apoptosis and inhibit the osteoclast differentiation. We further investigated the possible molecular mechanisms by using Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) and Western Blotting, and the results showed that ZA-CaP bilayer coating Mg-Sr alloy could regulate the osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis through the Estrogen Receptor α (ERα) and NF-κB signaling pathway. Moreover, ZA-CaP bilayer coating Mg-Sr alloy could regulate the cross talk of osteoblast-osteoclast and increase the ratio of OPG: RANKL in the co-culture system through OPG/RANKL/RANK signaling pathway, which promoting the balance of bone remodeling process. Therefore, these promising results suggest the potential clinical applications of ZA pretreated Mg-Sr alloys for bone defect repairs and periprosthetical osteolysis due to the excessive differentitation and maturation of osteoclasts.

Bisphosphonates (BPs) are known as a group of well-established drugs which are clinically used in metabolic bone disorder-related therapies. Recently increasing interests are focused on the application of BPs in the biodegradable Mg-based implants. In this study a facile method was applied to fabricate a zoledronate loaded coating on AZ31 Mg alloy in comparison with the previous construction strategies, such as Ca-P chelation with BPs. The results showed that the fluoride pretreated coating could provide better corrosion resistance. Zoledronic acid (ZA) was successfully loaded on the surface of Mg alloy detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis, and the release profile was quantified with Ultraviolet (UV) detection. It is considered that this construction of ZA coated Mg-based orthopedic implants could be easily and efficiently used in clinic. Different from the traditional drug release mode, this paper used the hydrogen bond between drug molecules and drug carriers to not only realise the effective drug release in the early stage of drug release, but also meet the continuous effect of drugs in the later stage, providing a new possibility for clinical application.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between regular tea consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer by a meta-analysis. Two investigators independently performed a computer retrieve on the electronic databases of Embase, PubMed, and Ovidsp for prospective cohort studies and case-control studies on regular tea consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer incidence. The keywords using for search were ('Pancreas' OR 'pancreatic') AND ('neoplasms' OR 'carcinoma' OR 'cancer') AND 'tea'. Risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to determine the effect of tea consumption on pancreatic cancer. A total of 14 studies were included (8078 pancreatic cancer patients, with a total of 859 783 patients) in the present meta-analysis. The pooled results of effect size indicated that tea consumption has no significant relationship with risk of pancreatic cancer (RR=0.99, 95% CI: 0.89-1.11, P=0.922). However, the subgroup analysis of different countries showed a statistical decrease in pancreatic cancer risk by high consumption of tea in a Chinese population (RR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.59-0.98, P=0.036). Similar results were found in the elderly (>60 years old) (RR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.60-0.96, P=0.023). In conclusion, the present meta-analysis of 14 studies suggests that the correlation between tea consumption and the risk of pancreatic cancer in the general population is not significant, but an increase in tea consumption can reduce the risk of pancreatic cancer disease in Chinese populations and in individuals older than 60 years of age. It is necessary to formulate more rigorous designs of regional studies to further confirm the relationship between tea consumption and pancreatic cancer.