Assemble Flavone of Rhizoma Drynariae Promotes Differentiation of Osteoblasts and Growth of Bone Graft in Induced Membrane Partly by Activating Wnt/β-Catenin Signal Pathway
Abstract Background: Assemble Flavone of Rhizoma Drynariae (AFRD) is not only the extract of Rhizoma Drynariae, but also the effective component of Qianggu capsule, which is widely used in the treatment of fracture, bone defect, osteoporosis and other orthopedic diseases, and has achieved good results. Purpose of this trial was to explore effects of AFRD on bone graft mineralization and osteoblast differentiation in Masquelet induced membrane in rats.Methods: Twenty male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 10-12 weeks were randomLy divided into AFRD group (n=10) and control group (n=10). Critical-sized defects model of rats was established with 10 rats in each group. Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was implanted into the defect of femur in rats. After the formation of the induced membrane, autogenous bone was implanted into the induced membrane. After 10 weeks of bone grafting, bone tissue in the bone graft area was examined by X-ray, Micro-CT and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining to evaluate the growth of the bone graft. Serums of the two groups of rats were extracted respectively, and these serums were used to culture osteoblasts in vitro. CKK8 method, Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining, Western blot and RT-PCR and other methods were used to evaluate the effects of AFRD on the proliferation of osteoblasts and the regulation of Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway.Results: In vivo experiment showed that the growth and mineralization effect of bone graft in AFRD group was better. In vitro experiment showed that osteoblasts proliferated faster, ALP activity was higher, number of mineralized nodules was more, and expression of proteins related to Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway and osteogenesis were more in AFRD group.Conclusions: AFRD can promote mineralization of bone graft and differentiation of osteoblasts during the bone graft growth period of induced membrane technique, which is related to the activation of Wnt/ β-catenin signal pathway.