Background: Current treatments for osteoporosis are associated with various side effects and do not prevent the age-related decrease in osteoblast number. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of iQPR-H₂O on osteogenesis.
Methods: Mouse fibroblast NIH3T3 and pre-osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured in medium prepared with iQPR-H₂O or unprocessed mineral water (control cells), and proliferation and differentiation were assessed by MTT and alkaline phosphatase assay, respectively. Mineral deposition by the cells was determined using Alizarin red S staining. A mouse model of osteoporosis, ovariectomized SAMP8 mice, was used to evaluate the effects of iQPR-H₂O on osteogenesis in vivo. Mice were given either iQPR-H₂O or unprocessed mineral water (control group) for four months after which bone mass density (BMD) measurements were made using a bone densitometer and hematoxylin and eosin staining of bone samples.
Results: NIH3T3 cells grown in medium prepared with iQPR-H₂O exhibited significantly greater proliferation. NIH3T3 and MC3T3-E1 cells demonstrated a significant increase in alkaline phosphatase levels in the iQPR-H₂O group. MC3T3-E1 cells showed mineralization at day 28. mRNA expression levels of both osteopontin and runt-related transcription factor 2 in MC3T3-E1 cells were higher in the iQPR-H₂O group compared with the control group. After four months, significantly greater bone regeneration was evident in ovariectomized SAMP8 mice administered iQPR-H₂O as compared with control group.
Conclusions: iQPR-H₂O may reduce the symptoms of osteoporosis by improving osteogenesis.