Co-administration of Antarctic krill peptide EEEFDATR and calcium shows superior osteogenetic activity

A specific peptide (EEEFDATR) that is released during the hydrolysis of Antarctic krill contains three glutamic acids that cover calcium-binding ligands, and might act as a potential role in enhancing the osteogenetic activity. In this study, EEEFDATR and calcium alone and in combination were examined for their effects on the proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization of MC3T3-E1 osteoblastic cells. Co-administration of CaCl2 and EEEFDATR showed a superior proliferation rate (70.94%) of MC3T3-E1 cells, which was about 2.07 and 1.74 times higher than CaCl2 and EEEFDATR alone, respectively. Osteoblast proliferation improvements were associated with increased cell cycle in S phase after co-administration of CaCl2 and EEEFDATR. The CaCl2 + EEEFDATR group further exhibited a significantly higher alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity as compared to other groups (p < 0.05) and showed obvious differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells. The magnitude of mineralization in the extracellular matrix (calcium deposition) was also higher in MC3T3-E1 cells treated with combined administration, although EEEFDATR alone did not induce significant mineralization. These data suggest that co-administration of CaCl2 and EEEFDATR was superior to mono-administration in improving osteogenetic activity.