RESUMO
BACKGROUND:Experimental studies have showed that puerarin has an obvious protective effect on osteoporosis in ovariectomized and orchiectomized mice. But the influence of puerarin in the molecular level in the process of osteoblast differentiation is seldom reported. OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of puerarin on the mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase, bone sialoprotein, osteopontin and osteocalcin in osteoblasts. METHODS:The MC3T3-E1 cells from mice cultured in vitro were randomly divided into control group, puerarin group (10-6 mol/L puerarin) and estradiol group (10-7 mol/L estradiol) to observe the effects of puerarin on the differentiation of osteoblasts. mRNA expression of alkaline phosphatase, bone sialoprotein, osteopontin and osteocalcin in MC3T3-E1 cells was determined using RT-PCR method. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Puerarin and estradiol both could prolong the expression of alkaline phosphatase that reached the peak at 12 days. Puerarin and estradiol strengthened the mRNA expression of bone sialoprotein at 10 and 12 days, reduced expression of osteopontin at 5 and 12 days, and increased expression of osteocalcin at 10 and 12 days. These results reveal that puerarin can induce the differentiation of cultured osteoblasts by influencing osteoblast differentiation-related protein mRNA expressions, which may be one of the important molecular mechanisms of puerarin for prevention of osteoporosis.