title: [A study on the effect of icaritin on rat chondrocytes].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the eff ect of icaritin on proliferation and apoptosis in rat chondrocytes and to provide new theory for osteochondropathy treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Icaritin (with a purity of 99%) at different concentrations (0, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 μmol/L) was incubated with rat chondrocytes for different time. The cell proliferation and apoptosis was assayed by MTT and fl ow cytometry, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with the control group, the cell proliferation was increased in the groups with icaritin at 4 or 8 μmol/L (P<0.05), whereas the proliferation was decreased in the groups with icaritin at 16, 32 or 64 μmol/L groups compared to the control group (P<0.05); the cell apoptosis ratio in the group with icaritin at 4 μmol/L was obviously lower than that in the control group aft er incubation of icaritin for 24 h and 48 h. Beyond 4 μmol/L, the higher concentration of icaritin, the higher apoptosis ratio of cell. However, it did not show a time-dependent manner at a same concentration of icaritin.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The icaritin at low concentration (4 or 8 μmol/L) can promote rat chondrocyte proliferation and inhibit cell apoptosis, while the effect of icaritin on rat chondrocyte at high concentration was reversed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410011.
authors.forename: Lile
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Wanchun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D019902:Chondrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects*; D005419:Flavonoids / Q000737:chemistry*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D005419:Flavonoids; C499403:icaritin