Functional roles of fish collagen peptides on bone regeneration.

Fish collagen peptides (FCP) derived from the skin, bones and scales are commercially used as a functional food or dietary supplement for hypertension and diabetes. However, there is limited evidence on the effects of FCP on the osteoblast function in contrast to evidence of the effects on wound healing, diabetes and bone regeneration, which have been obtained from animal studies. In this narrative review, we expound on the availability of FCP by basic research using osteoblasts. Low-concentration FCP upregulates the expression of osteoblast proliferation, differentiation and collagen modifying enzyme-related genes. Furthermore, it could accelerate matrix mineralization. FCP may have potential utility as a biomaterial to improve collagen quality and promote mineralization through the mitogen-activated protein kinase and Smad cascades. However, there are few clinical studies on bone regeneration in human subjects. It is desirable to be applied clinically through clinical study as soon as possible, based on the results from basic research.

Boron Accelerates Cultured Osteoblastic Cell Activity through Calcium Flux.

A low concentration of boron (B) accelerates the proliferation and differentiation of mammalian osteoblasts. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of 0.1 mM of B on the membrane function of osteoblastic cells in vitro. Genes involved in cell activity were investigated using gene expression microarray analyses. The Ca2+ influx and efflux were evaluated to demonstrate the activation of L-type Ca2+ channel for the Ca2+ influx, and that of Na+/K+-ATPase for the Ca2+ efflux. A real-time PCR analysis revealed that the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression of four mineralization-related genes was clearly increased after 3 days of culture with a B-supplemented culture medium. Using microarray analyses, five genes involved in cell proliferation and differentiation were upregulated compared to the control group. Regarding the Ca2+ influx, in the nifedipine-pretreated group, the relative fluorescence intensity for 1 min after adding B solution did not increase compared with that for 1 min before addition. In the control group, the relative fluorescence intensity was significantly increased compared with the experimental group (P < 0.05). Regarding the Ca2+ efflux, in the experimental group cultured in 0.1 mM of B-supplemented medium, the relative fluorescence intensity for 10 min after ouabain treatment revealed a significantly lower slope value compared with the control group (P < 0.01). This is the first study to demonstrate the acceleration of Ca2+ flux by B supplementation in osteoblastic cells. Cell membrane stability is related to the mechanism by which a very low concentration of B promotes the proliferation and differentiation of mammalian osteoblastic cells in vitro.

Imiquimod-induced TLR7 signaling enhances repair of DNA damage induced by ultraviolet light in bone marrow-derived cells.

Imiquimod is a TLR7/8 agonist that has anticancer therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of precancerous skin lesions and certain nonmelanoma skin cancers. To test our hypothesis that imiquimod enhances DNA repair as a mechanism for its anticancer activity, the nucleotide excision repair genes were studied in bone marrow-derived cells. Imiquimod enhanced the expression of xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) A and other DNA repair genes (quantitative real-time PCR analysis) and resulted in an increased nuclear localization of the DNA repair enzyme XPA. This was dependent on MyD88, as bone marrow-derived cells from MyD88(-/-) mice did not increase XPA gene expression and did not enhance the survival of MyD88(-/-)-derived bone marrow-derived cells after UV B exposure as was observed in bone marrow-derived cells from MyD88(+/+) mice. Imiquimod also enhanced DNA repair of UV light (UVL)-irradiated gene expression constructs and accelerated the resolution of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers after UVL exposures in P388 and XS52. Lastly, topical treatment of mouse skin with 5% imiquimod cream prior to UVL irradiation resulted in a decrease in the number of cyclobutane pyridimine dimer-positive APC that were found in local lymph nodes 24 h after UVL irradiation in both wild-type and IL-12 gene-targeted mice. In total, these data support the idea that TLR7 agonists such as imiquimod enhance DNA repair in bone marrow-derived cells. This property is likely to be an important mechanism for its anticancer effects because it protects cutaneous APC from the deleterious effects of UVL.