title: Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction promotes chondrocyte proliferation by stimulating cell cycle progression.
abstract: Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction (BZD), a well-known formulation in Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been widely used for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Due to the poor intrinsic repair capacity of chondrocytes, promoting the proliferation of chondrocytes is an efficient treatment to delay the progression of cartilage degradation. The present study, therefore, focused on the effect of BZD on chondrocyte proliferation, exploring the mechanism of BZD on the inhibition of cartilage degradation. Chondrocytes isolated from the knee articular cartilage of Sprague Dawley rats were cultured and identified by type II collagen immunohistochemistry. It was found that BZD promoted chondrocyte viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. To investigate if BZD promoted the chondrocyte viability by stimulating the cell cycle progression a flow cytometer was used, and the results showed that the percentage proportion of G0/G1 cells was significantly lower, and the percentage proportion of S cells was significantly higher, in treated cells compared with that in untreated cells. To gain insight into the mechanism underlying the effect of BZD on the cell cycle progression, the mRNA and protein expression of cyclin D1, cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4), CDK6 and p21 was measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and western blotting, respectively. The mRNA and protein expression of cyclin D1, CDK4 and CDK6 in the BZD-treated chondrocytes was significantly upregulated, while the mRNA and protein expression of p21 was significantly downregulated, compared with that in the untreated chondrocytes. These results suggested that BZD promoted chondrocyte proliferation by accelerating G1/S transition, indicating that BZD is a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of OA.
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Xihai
authors: X
authors: Li
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Jiashou
authors: J
authors: Chen
authors: Research Base of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Wenna
authors: W
authors: Liang
authors: Fujian Key Laboratory of Integrative Medicine on Geriatrics, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Huiting
authors: H
authors: Li
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Fayuan
authors: F
authors: Liu
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Xiaping
authors: X
authors: Weng
authors: Fujian Key Laboratory of Integrative Medicine on Geriatrics, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Pingdong
authors: P
authors: Lin
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Wenlie
authors: W
authors: Chen
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Chunsong
authors: C
authors: Zheng
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Huifeng
authors: H
authors: Xu
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Xianxiang
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Academy of Integrative Medicine, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuzhou, Fujian 350122, P.R. China.
authors: Hongzhi
authors: H
authors: Ye
keywords: Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction; cell cycle; chondrocyte; osteoarthritis