Guzhi Zengsheng Zhitongwan, a Traditional Chinese Medicinal Formulation, Stimulates Chondrocyte Proliferation through Control of Multiple Genes Involved in Chondrocyte Proliferation and Differentiation.

Baojin Yao,Bocheng Lu,Xiangyang Leng,Hongwei Gao,Mei Zhang,Daqing Zhao

doi:10.1155/2018/7265939

Abstract

Chinese materia medica (CMM) are essential components of traditional Chinese medicine, and Chinese medicinal formulas consisting of 2 or more types of CMM are widely used. These formulations have played a pivotal role in health protection and disease control for thousands of years. Guzhi Zengsheng Zhitongwan (GZZSZTW), which represents one of the Chinese medicinal formulations, has been used for several decades to treat joint diseases. However, the exact molecular mechanism underlying its efficacy in treating osteoarthritis remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we investigated the effects of GZZSZTW on primary chondrocytes. We demonstrated that GZZSZTW significantly promoted chondrocyte viability, maintained chondrocytes in a continuous proliferative state, and prevented their further differentiation. These effects were achieved by the synergistic interactions of various herbs and their active components in GZZSZTW through an increase in the expression levels of functional genes participating in chondrocyte commitment and proliferation and a decrease in the expression levels of genes involved in chondrocyte differentiation. GZZSZTW treatment also decreased the expression levels of genes that inhibited chondrocyte proliferation. Thus, this study has greatly deepened the current knowledge about the molecular effects of GZZSZTW on chondrocytes. It has also shed new light on possible strategies to further prevent and treat cartilage-related diseases by using traditional Chinese medicinal formulations.

Highlights

It is well-known that Youyou Tu won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy for malaria using artemisinin, which is derived from a traditional herbal medicine called qinghaosu
Our results indicated that Guzhi Zengsheng Zhitongwan (GZZSZTW) significantly increased the expression levels of multiple genes involved in promoting cell proliferation, most of which are highly expressed in tumor cells, such as Tumor necrosis factor alpha-induced protein 2 (Tnfaip2), Chitinase-3-like protein 1 (Chi3l1), Tumor necrosis factor (Tnf), Pfkfb3, Sox8, Jag1, Mafb, Pla2g7, Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A1 (Hnrnpa1), and E2f3
Our results indicated that GZZSZTW treatment significantly promoted chondrocyte proliferation by upregulating the expression levels of functional genes involved in the promotion of cell proliferation

Summary

Introduction

It is well-known that Youyou Tu won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy for malaria using artemisinin, which is derived from a traditional herbal medicine called qinghaosu. Chinese materia medica (CMM) has attracted worldwide attention and has extended to the forefront of the global research community [1]. Guzhi Zengsheng Zhitongwan (GZZSZTW), a Chinese medicinal formulation created by the national medical master professor Bailing Liu, has been used in the Affiliated Hospital of Changchun University of Chinese Medicine for several decades to treat joint diseases such as osteoarthritis. This formula is routinely taken in the form of orally administered pills, which are only produced in the hospital’s internal preparation center to treat patients, and it is not yet available commercially. It is effective and widely used in the treatment of joint diseases

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Discussion

Conclusion