Osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells promoted by the crude extracts of the mixture of Cortex mori radicis, Patrinia saniculaefolia

The present study investigated the effect of Cortex mori radicis (CMR) and Patrinia saniculaefolia (PS) on the osteogenic differentiation of the human mesenchymal stem cell. CMR and PS have been used as herbal medicine in traditional Korean medicine for a long time. Mesenchymal stem cells that can differentiate into adipocyte, chondrocyte and osteocyte recently issued as a therapeutic agent for degenerative disease. Here, mesenchymal stem cells isolated from synovial fluid of osteoarthritis patient, were cultured in specific media to differentiate into osteogenesis. Osteogenic differentiated mesenchymal stem cells were confirmed using Von Kossa and Arizarion Red S staining. And, the cells were divided into 4 groups: control group, CMR treated group, PS treated group and mixture treated group. To determine the effect of the herbal samples on the osteogenic mesenchymal stem cell, OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG mRNA expressions, known as the key maintenance factors of mesenchymal stem cell was measured using real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). As a result, the maintenance factors, OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG, were more increased in cells treated by CMR, PS and the mixture of two herbs than control group. Therefore, we confirmed the enhancing effect of CMR, PS and their mixture on the osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells which derived from the synovial fluid of osteoarthritis patient. This study demonstrates that the effect of the herbal samples on the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cell may have a possibility to be a therapeutic agent for the osteoarthritis patients.