Icariin promotes osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow stromal cells in vitro / 中国中药杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of icariin on the osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow stromal cells (rBMSCs).</p><p><b>METHOD</b>rBMSCs were cultured by adherence screening method. Icariin was supplemented into the culture at 1 x 10(-5) mol x L(-1). The osteogenic differentiation markers including alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, CFU-F(ALP) and mineralized bone modulus were compared between the icariin-supplemented group and the control group. Total RNA was isolated and the gene expression of bFGF, IGF-1, Osterix(OSX) and Runx-2 was investigated by RT Real-time PCR.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>Icariin significantly improved ALP activity, CFU-F(ALP) amounts and mineralized modulus. It also can enhance the mRNA level of bFGF, IGF-1, Osterix and Runx-2.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Icariin enhances the osteogenic differentiation of rBMSCs significantly, which suggested that icariin has the potentiality to be a new drug of anti-osteoporosis or fracture healing.</p>