Effects of icarrin on the mRNA expressions of Cbfa1 in rat osteoblast

Objective To observe the effects of icarrin on the proliferation and differentiation of rat osteoblasts cultured in vitro and to investigate the effects of icarrin on the expressions of Cbfa1 in rat osteoblast. Methods Calvarial osteoblasts were obtained from newborn(24 h) SD rats by trypsin-collagenase digestion method. The culture medium with different icarrin concentrations(1, 10, 100 ng/ml) and the second generation osteoblasts were mixed. The mRNA expressions of Cbfa1、ALP and ColⅠwere detected by semiquantative RT-PCR respectively. Results In comparison with the control group, the mRNA expressions of Cbfa1, ALP and ColⅠ were increased in a dose-dependent manner(P0.05) with a maximal effect at the concentration of 10 ng/ml. Conclusion The icarrin had the effects on stimulating the proliferation and differentiation of cultured osteoblast in vitro. The icarrin could induce bone formation by enchancing the basal level of Cbfa1 gene expressions.