Effects of Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction drug serum on SOX9 expression and Chondrocyte phenotype in vitro

Introduction Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction (BZD), a well-known formulation in Traditional Chinese Medicine, has been widely used for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). Due to the poor intrinsic repair capacity of chondrocytes, promoting the proliferation of chondrocytes is an efficient treatment to delay the progression of cartilage degradation. Hypothesis/Gap Statement Therefore, to explore the regulatory mechanism of Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction in chondrocytes will contribute to the repair of chondrocyte injury in OA, and may serve as a potential therapy for OA diseases. Aim To investigate the expression and distribution of SOX9 mediated by serum containing Bushen Zhuangjin Decoction (BZD) and its therapeutic effect on chondrocyte injury in rats. Methodology . The subcultured second-generation rat chondrocytes were randomly divided into four groups, and they were intervened with medium containing different serums, including: blank serum group, low-concentration BZD group, medium-concentration BZD group, and high-concentration BZD group. The viability, proliferation and apoptosis of chondrocytes were detected by MTT assay and flow cytometry. The gene and protein levels of SOX9, aggrecan and type II collagen genes were analysed by qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Immunofluorescence staining was used to analyse the expression and distribution of SOX9. Inflammatory factors in different culture mediums of chondrocytes were detected by ELISA. Results Compared with the control group, the activity of chondrocytes in the BZD drug-containing serum group was significantly enhanced, and the degree of apoptosis was significantly decreased. The gene and protein levels of SOX9, proteoglycan aggrecan and collagen II in chondrocytes increased significantly. The inflammatory factors in the culture medium also decreased significantly. And in the above experiments, the medium concentration group BZD drug-containing serum had the best effect. Conclusion Our research results show that BZD medicated serum can up-regulate the expression of SOX9, reduce the release of inflammatory factors, and promote changes in the phenotype of chondrocytes, which protects chondrocytes from damage.