Cissus quadrangularis (Hexane Fraction) Inhibits RANK-L Induced Osteoclast Differentiation of Murine Macrophage RAW264.7 Cell Line

Amid the numerous health concerns faced by the world, osteoporosis a silent epidemic is a major health concern, since it affects millions of people all around the world. Recognizing the limited treatment options for osteoporotic patients, along with their long-term use safety concerns, our research group focused on investigating efficacious, inexpensive and safe alternative therapies for osteoporosis. Investigating the osteogenic potential of CQ, our research group previously reported osteogenic stimulatory effects of CQ (hexane fraction). The present study explores anti-resorptive effects of CQ-H on bones. We utilized RAW264.7 murine macrophage cell line as osteoclast precursors, and resveratrol (RSV) as a standard for its anti-osteoclast activity. Upon RANK-L induction of RAW264.7 cells to differentiate into osteoclasts, we found 10ng/ml CQ-H as most efficacious concentration for inhibiting osteoclastogenesis with 57.8% inhibition of TRAP activity. Whereas, in comparison 20ng/ml RSV showed 49.9% inhibition of TRAP activity. Expression of osteoclast marker genes such as NFATc1, ACP-5, CTSK, MMP-9 and CTR corroborated our results. Distinct downregulation of marker genes was observed in CQ-H and RSV treated differentiated cells compared to the positive control. Moreover, the downregulation was enhanced in CQ-H treated osteoclasts compared to RSV treatment. This study presents in vitro findings on the osteoclast inhibition activity of CQ and provide evidence of anti-osteoporotic therapeutic property of CQ. Further studies on isolation and functional characterization of active compounds of signaling pathways that mediate osteoclastogenesis will contribute further insights on the anti-osteoporotic therapeutic activity of CQ.