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Introduction Maintaining bone health is crucial for overall well-being, with osteoblasts playing a vital role in bone formation. Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP2) is a key regulator, stimulating bone matrix synthesis and osteoblast differentiation. Recognizing BMP2's significance, there's growing interest in natural compounds, such as Cardiospermum halicacabum. This study explores Cardiospermum halicacabum's potential influence on BMP2 mRNA expression in osteoblast cells for insights into bone health modulation. Materials and methods This research utilized Cardiospermum halicacabum to explore its impact on MG-63 cells, a human osteoblast cell line. Osteoblast cells were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM), supplemented with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum, and maintained at 37°C in a 5% CO2 and 95% air environment. Cell viability was evaluated by seeding osteoblast cells into 96-well plates and exposing them to different concentrations of Cardiospermum halicacabum (2.0 µg/ml and 20 µg/ml). The study observed both the promotion of osteoblast cell growth in MG-63 and morphological changes in the cells under an inverted light microscope at 10x magnification. Results were presented using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) conducted with IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 23 (Released 2015; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States). Result The reverse transcription-polymerase chain (RT-PCR) results revealed an increased expression of BMP-2 mRNA fold change in comparison to the control group. A clear positive correlation was observed between the BMP-2 mRNA fold change and the notable increase in the concentration of Cardiospermum halicacabum. This investigation revealed a direct association of BMP-2 mRNA expression with the proliferation of osteoblast cells. Specifically, the BMP-2 mRNA fold change was recorded at 2.26±1.05 in Cardiospermum halicacabum at 2.0 µg/ml and 2.0 ± 0.84 at 20 µg/ml, with corresponding significances of 0.00, respectively. Conclusion Potential effects of Cardiospermum halicacabum on BMP-2 mRNA expression in osteoblast cells and its role in bone health modulation revealed that Cardiospermum halicacabum may upregulate BMP-2 mRNA expression, suggesting its potential as a natural compound for enhancing bone formation. The observed positive correlation between Cardiospermum halicacabum concentration and BMP-2 mRNA fold change showed the significance of this botanical agent in promoting osteoblast cell proliferation. These results highlight the importance of further research to explore the applications of Cardiospermum halicacabum in managing bone disorders and improving overall bone health.
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Introduction Osteosarcoma, a malignant bone tumor, poses significant treatment challenges, necessitating the development of alternative therapeutic strategies. Aerva lanata (A. lanata), a medicinal plant with traditional use in various healthcare systems, has anti-cancer properties. This study looks at the oncolytic effect of A. lanata extract on osteosarcoma cell lines (sarcoma osteogenic-Saos2). Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the oncolytic effect of Aerva lanata on Saos2 cell lines through the apoptotic signaling pathway. Materials and methods A. lanata extract was prepared using Soxhlet extraction, and its cytotoxic effects on Saos2 cells were assessed using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of gene activity was used to assess the extract's effect on apoptotic signaling pathways. Results The MTT assay demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease in Saos2 proliferation following treatment with A. lanata extract at concentrations ranging from 50 µg to 200 µg. The standard deviations observed ranged from 1.414 to 7.071. Gene expression analysis revealed that the extract led to a reduction in the messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) levels of the anti-apoptotic marker B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl2), with standard deviations ranging from 1 to 0.535. Conversely, it induced an increase in the mRNA levels of the tumor suppressor protein p53, with standard deviations ranging from 1 to 1.835. These findings suggest that the extract modulates the apoptotic pathways of the Bcl2 and p53 genes. Conclusion A. lanata extract exhibits promising anti-cancer activity against Saos2 osteosarcoma cell lines, inducing apoptosis by downregulating Bcl2 and increasing p53. The study's findings suggest that A. lanata may be useful as a natural treatment for osteosarcoma.
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BACKGROUND: Piperine, a naturally occurring compound in black pepper (Piper nigrum), is known for its potential health benefits, including its reported enhancement of insulin sensitivity. However, the precise impact of piperine on hepatocyte nuclear factor 1 alpha (HNF-1α) and sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP-1c), transcription factors for insulin signaling and glucose metabolism in hepatocytes, remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the effect of piperine, compared to metformin, on blood glucose and insulin levels by modifying the expression of hepatic HNF-1α and SREBP-1c in high-fat-diet (HFD) and sucrose-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats and in human Chang liver cells. METHODS: Adult male albino rats were categorized into four groups: group 1 as the control, group 2 as T2DM, group 3 as T2DM rats treated with piperine (40 mg), and group 4 as T2DM rats treated with metformin (50 mg). Fasting blood glucose (FBG) and serum insulin levels were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis was conducted to assess the mRNA expression of HNF-1α and SREBP-1c. Further, piperine was treated with normal and high glucose-induced Chang liver cells, and gene expression was analysed. Data analysis was performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), with a significance set at p<0.05. RESULTS: Treatment with piperine led to a notable decrease in blood glucose levels and circulating insulin when compared with T2DM rats (group 2). Additionally, piperine administration resulted in the upregulation of HNF-1α mRNA expression and downregulation of SREBP-1c mRNA levels whose effects were found to be near that of the control and standard drug metformin's effects. In vitro study also confirmed that piperine improved the HNF-1α expression and reduced the expression of SREBP-1c in Chang liver cells. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that piperine treatment effectively regulates hyperglycemic and hyperinsulinemic insulin resistance in the liver by modulating the expression of HNF-1α and SREBP-1c. Consequently, piperine emerges as a promising candidate for therapeutic intervention in managing T2DM.
