Abstract
BackgroundArctium lappa L. root (burdock root) has long been recommended for the treatment of different diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Burdock root possesses anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial activities. The aim of the study was to elucidate whether aqueous extract of burdock root regulates mesenchymal stem cell proliferation and differentiation.MethodsHuman bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in 2D high density culture and in 3D micromass pellets were treated with chondrogenic induction medium and chondral basal medium in the absence or presence of aqueous extract of burdock root. The chondrogenic differentiation was accessed by staining glucosaminoglycans, immunostaining SOX9 and type II collagen and immuonblotting of SOX9, aggrecan and type II collagen.ResultsTreatment of aqueous extract of burdock root increased the cell proliferation of hMSCs. It did not have significant effect on osteogenic and adipogenic differentiation, but significantly enhanced chondrogenic induction medium-induced chondrogenesis. The increment was dose dependent, as examined by staining glucosaminoglycans, SOX9, and type II collagen and immunobloting of SOX9, aggrecan and type II collagen in 2D and 3D cultures. In the presence of supplemental materials, burdock root aqueous extract showed equivalent chondrogenic induction capability to that of TGF-β.ConclusionsThe results demonstrate that aqueous extract of Arctium lappa L. root promotes chondrogenic medium-induced chondrogenic differentiation. The aqueous extract of burdock root can even be used alone to stimulate chondrogenic differentiation. The study suggests that the aqueous extract of burdock root can be used as an alternative strategy for treatment purposes.
Highlights
Arctium lappa L. root has long been recommended for the treatment of different diseases in traditional Chinese medicine
HMSCs were seeded at high density (20,000 cells/cm2) and treated with chondrogenic induction medium (CIM), containing DULBECCO’S Modified Eagles Medium (DMEM) low glucose, 0.1 μM dexamethasone, 50 μM L-ascorbic acid-2-phosphate, 1x Insulin-Transferrin-Selenium, 40 μg/ml L-proline, 1x L-glutamine and 5 ng/ml recombinant human Transforming growth factor β3 (Peprotech, Cranbury, NJ, USA) [6, 19, 47]
Our first question was if the aqueous extract of burdock root (BD) affected human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) cell viability
Summary
Arctium lappa L. root (burdock root) has long been recommended for the treatment of different diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. Burdock root possesses anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-microbial activities. Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic disease, which causes the degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone. The cartilage breaks down, and the joint space becomes narrow, resulting in the exposure of periarticular bone and soft tissues. This can cause pain, swelling, misshapenness, and disability within the joint, and irritation in the surrounding tissues [1]. OA is the most common form of arthritis, affecting tens of millions of people worldwide. In the United State of America, according to the National Health Interview Survey, 14 million people are suffering from symptomatic knee OA [2]. Since the frequency of OA increases with age, the number of OA cases is expected to increase in the decade [3]
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