title: Proliferative effect of Hachimijiogan, a Japanese herbal medicine, in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hachimijiogan (HJG), Ba-Wei-Di-Huang-Wan in Chinese, is one of the most popular herbal medicines in Japanese Kampo. HJG is often prescribed for the prevention and treatment of age-related diseases. Muscle atrophy plays an important role in aging-related disabilities such as sarcopenia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the possible beneficial effect of HJG on skeletal muscle.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cells of murine skeletal muscle myoblast cell line C2C12 were used as an in vitro model of muscle cell proliferation and differentiation. The effect of HJG on C2C12 cell proliferation and differentiation was assessed. We counted the number of myotubes morphologically to assess the degree of differentiation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  HJG treatment (200 μg/mL) for 3 days significantly increased C2C12 cell number by 1.23-fold compared with that of the control. HJG promoted the proliferation of C2C12 cells through activation of the ERK1/2 signaling pathway without affecting the Akt signaling pathway. HJG did not affect the differentiation of C2C12 cells.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HJG had beneficial effects on skeletal muscle myoblast proliferation. These findings may provide a useful intervention for the prevention and treatment of sarcopenia.
authors.affiliation: Division of Women's Health, Research Institute of Traditional Asian Medicine, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka, Japan ; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsuiji
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Mari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tadakawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuo
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yaegashi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002460:Cell Line; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000494:pharmacology*; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000502:physiology; D051379:Mice; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000187:drug effects; D032446:Myoblasts / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal; C054591:hachimijiogan
keywords: ERK1/2 signaling pathway; herbal medicine; myoblast; proliferation; sarcopenia