Background: How the hip dysplasia affects the spinopelvic alignment in developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) patients is unclear, but it is an essential part for the management of this disease. This study aimed to investigate the coronal and sagittal spinopelvic alignment and the correlations between the spinopelvic parameters and the extent of hip dysplasia or the low back pain in unilateral DDH patients.Methods: From September 2016 to March 2021, 22 unilateral patients were enrolled in the DDH group with an average age of 43.6 years and 20 recruited healthy volunteers were assigned to the control group with an average age of 41.4 years. The Cobb angle, seventh cervical vertebra plumbline–central sacral vertical line (C7PL–CSVL), third lumbar vertebra inclination angle (L3IA), pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), thoracic kyphosis (TK), thoracolumbar kyphosis (TLK) and lumbar lordosis (LL) were measured on the standing anteroposterior and lateral full-length standing spine radiographs. Additionally, the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ) were used to assess the degree of low back pain.Results: Cobb angle (8.68 ± 6.21° vs. 2.31 ± 0.12°), L3IA (4.80 ± 5.47° vs. 0.83 ± 0.51°), C7PL–CSVL (1.65 ± 1.57 cm vs. 0.48 ± 0.33 cm), PT (15.02 ± 9.55° vs. 9.99 ± 2.97°) and TLK (7.69 ± 6.66° vs. 3.54 ± 1.63°) were significantly larger in DDH patients, whereas LL (37.41 ± 17.17° vs. 48.79 ± 7.75°) was significantly smaller (P < 0.05). No correlation was found between significantly different spinopelvic parameters and the extent of dysplasia. Statistical analysis revealed correlations between ODI and Cobb angle (r = 0.59,P < 0.01), PT (r = 0.49,P = 0.02), TK (r = −0.46, P = 0.03) and TLK (r = 0.44,P = 0.04). Correlations between JOABPQE score and the Cobb angle (r = −0.44,P = 0.04), L3IA (r = −0.53,P = 0.01), PT (r = −0.44,P = 0.04), and TK (r = 0.46,P = 0.03) were also observed.Conclusions: Cobb angle, L3IA, C7PL–CSVL in coronal plane and PT, TLK in sagittal plane increased, while LL decreased in unilateral DDH patients. These significantly different spinopelvic parameters have no correlation with the extent of dysplasia. Changes in coronal and sagittal plane including Cobb angle, L3IA, PT, TK and TLK were associated with the low back pain in the patients with unilateral DDH.

Osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is one of the most common and devastating articular cartilage diseases worldwide. The role of glycosylation in cartilage degeneration of ONFH is not yet fully understood. The expression of glycogens in cartilage from ONFH patients was determined using our own whole-genome expression dataset. Moreover, the altered glycosylation associated with ONFH cartilage and methylprednisolone (MPS)-induced cell models was investigated by lectin microarrays. The synthesis of α-2,3 sialylation was repressed by silencing ST3GAL2, and the effect of α-2,3-sialylation on ONFH-associated molecular events was assessed. Our findings revealed that the expression of 18 glycogens (including ST3GAL2) were significantly changed in ONFH cartilage compared with those in fracture control cartilage. Moreover, the level of α-2,3 sialylation, which is catalyzed by ST3GAL2, was significantly increased in ONFH cartilage and cell models compared to their corresponding controls. Silencing the expression of ST3GAL2 not only reduced the level of α-2,3 sialylation but also suppressed the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, reduced apoptosis-related proteins, and inactivated the NF-κB signaling pathway. Our study highlighted the important role of α-2,3 sialylation in the development of ONFH, providing valuable insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of ONFH.