A Chinese Herbal Decoction, Danggui Buxue Tang, Stimulates Proliferation, Differentiation and Gene Expression of Cultured Osteosarcoma Cells: Genomic Approach to Reveal Specific Gene Activation

Roy C Y Choi,Tina T X Dong,Winnie Z M Li,Jerry K H Cheung,Glanice K Y Chu,Kui J Zhao,Anna W H Cheung,Jun Li,Qiu T Gao,Judy T T Zhu,Ran Duan,An W Ding,Faye T C Lau,Karl W K Tsim

doi:10.1093/ecam/nen085

Abstract

Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT), a Chinese herbal decoction used to treat ailments in women, contains Radix Astragali (Huangqi; RA) and Radix Angelicae Sinensis (Danggui; RAS). When DBT was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells, an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation of MG-63 cell were revealed: both of these effects were significantly higher in DBT than RA or RAS extract. To search for the biological markers that are specifically regulated by DBT, DNA microarray was used to reveal the gene expression profiling of DBT in MG-63 cells as compared to that of RA- or RAS-treated cells. Amongst 883 DBT-regulated genes, 403 of them are specifically regulated by DBT treatment, including CCL-2, CCL-7, CCL-8, and galectin-9. The signaling cascade of this DBT-regulated gene expression was also elucidated in cultured MG-63 cells. The current results reveal the potential usage of this herbal decoction in treating osteoporosis and suggest the uniqueness of Chinese herbal decoction that requires a well-defined formulation. The DBT-regulated genes in the culture could serve as biological responsive markers for quality assurance of the herbal preparation.

Highlights

Estrogen deficiency is the major cause in developing postmenopausal osteoporosis
When Danggui Buxue Tang (DBT) was applied onto cultured MG-63 cells, an increase of cell proliferation and differentiation of MG-63 cell were revealed: both of these effects were significantly higher in DBT than RA or RAS extract
We found that the standardized DBT should contain 0.186 mg calycosin, 0.155 mg formononetin, 0.351 mg ferulic acid and 0.204 mg ligustilide per 1 g dried weight of DBT; this was in line to our previous studies [8, 9]

Summary

Introduction

Estrogen deficiency is the major cause in developing postmenopausal osteoporosis. Estrogen acts on both osteoblast and osteoclast to inhibit bone breakdown at all stages of life. Estrogen therapy recently became a subject of debate because clinical studies revealed an increased risk of breast cancer and coronary artery disease in women who take estrogen [2]. In view of these clinical risks, extensive efforts have been devoted to develop different strategies that would yield the benefits of estrogen therapy but with minimal side effects [3]. In particular the traditional Chinese medicine, are promising preparations that have fewer side effects [4, 5], and which, have been used widely for menopausal women as dietary supplements in Asia [6, 7]

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Results

Conclusion