ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the effect of Zhengu Pills ( a kidney-tonifying and blood-activating Chinese medicine) and Guci Fengshi Pills ( a dampness-dispelling and blood-activating Chinese medicine) on bone remodeling of cell model in vitro. Methods MC3T3-E1 and RAW264.7 cells were differentiated into osteoblasts ( OB) and osteoclasts ( OC) after stimulated by different inductive agents respectively, and then OB and OC were co-cultured. Immunocytochemical staining was applied to identify the construction of co-cultured OB and OC system. The serum containing corresponding medicine was prepared after the rats were given intragastric administration of Diacerein, Zhengu Pills and Guci Fengshi Pills. And then the obtained serum was used for treatment of co-cultured cells separately. At the end of experiment, Western blotting and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests were carried out. Results The osteoprotegerin (OPG) expression was increased and gene expression of glycoprotein 130 (gp130) was decreased in co-cultured cells after treatment with the serum containing Zhengu Pills and Guci Fengshi Pills ( P<0.05) . Conclusion Zhengu Pills and Guci Fengshi Pills have therapeutic effects on osteoarthritis ( OA) by inhibiting the bone resorption function of OC by the down-regulation of gp130 and by enhancing bone formation and increasing the bone density through recombinant murine’s RANK ligand (RANKL) -RANK-OPG system.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common form of human polyarthritis. Many genetic factors have been implicated in OA. It was reported that a polymorphism in the gene of interleukin-6 (IL-6) was associated with OA of knee. The aim of this study was to determine whether functional IL-6 promoter -174G/C (rs1800795) polymorphisms confer susceptibility to knee OA.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A meta-analysis was conducted on the association between the IL-6 polymorphism and knee OA. Electronic search at PubMed, EMBASE, Weipu database, and Wanfang database was conducted to select studies. Case-control studies containing available genotype frequencies of IL-6 -174G/C were chosen, and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was used to assess the strength of this association.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>A total of seven studies involving 6 464 subjects (knee OA 3 331 and controls 3 133) were considered in this study. The results suggested that the variant genotypes were not associated with knee OA risk in all genetic models (additive model: OR = 1.144, 95% CI 0.934-1.402, P = 0.194; recessive model: OR = 1.113, 95% CI 0.799-1.550, P = 0.526; dominant model: OR = 1.186, 95% CI 0.918-1.531, P = 0.191). A symmetric funnel plot, the Begg's test (P > 0.05), suggested that the data lacked publication bias.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>This meta-analysis does not support the idea that rs1800795 genotype is associated with increased risk of knee OA. However, to draw comprehensive and more reliable conclusions, further prospective studies with larger numbers of participants worldwide are needed to examine the association between rs1800795 polymorphism and knee OA.</p>