Abstract—Aims: Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease charac-terized by low bone mass and structural deterioration of bone tissue, with bone fragility and an increased risk of fractures. Bone is subject to constant remodeling mediated by two principal cells, the osteoclast for bone resorption and the osteoblast for bone formation. After the menopause in human and mice, the loss of bone mass is often coupled with diminished osteoblast production and function. It has been shown that the deficiency of estrogen and high level of expression of BMP-3 were linked to the accelerated bone loss after menopause. In this study, the effect of Chinese herb Shuang Gu Tang on the BMP-3 expression of bone marrow cells of ovariectomized mice was investigated. Methods: The ovary of mouse was surgically removed to mimic the estrogen deficiency at menopause. The bone marrow cells of ovariectomized mice were collected in cell culture. The bone marrow cell culture was treated with different fractions of the Chinese herb extracts (Shuang Gu Tang) and the BMP-3 expression level of each treatment was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Among the bone marrow cells of validated ovariectomized mice, the crude extracts and 40% ethanol fraction showed consistent effect on inhibiting the up-regulation of BMP-3 gene. Compared to untreated bone marrow cells, crude extract and 40% ethanol fraction reduced the expression of BMP-3 level by 41% and 45% respectively. Our results showed the inhibitory effect of Chinese herb (Shuang Gu Tang) on the up-regulation of BMP-3 in cultured bone mar-row cells from ovariectomized mice. The reduction of BMP-3 expression may increase the differentiation of osteoblast and account for the anti-osteoporosis effect.

Index Terms—Shuang Gu Tang, osteoporosis, BMP-3, bone marrow cells

Cite: Pingsheng Tu, Xin Xie, Mingchiu Fung, Yanxin Liu, Yuesen Zhi, and Ying-Ying Lee, "The Effect of Different Fractions of Chinese Herb Extract (Shuang Gu Tang) on BMP-3 Gene ex-pression Level of Mouse Bone Marrow Cell", Journal of Medical and Bioengineering, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 38-44, March 2014. Doi: 10.12720/jomb.3.1.38-44