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Osteoporosis is a skeletal disease that is identified by the deterioration of micro-architecture of bone tissue, leading to enhanced bone brittleness and a consequential increase in fracture threat. There are many treatments available for osteoporosis such as bisphosphonate therapy, hormonal replacement therapy, herbal therapy etc. For decades, there are several herbs that are attributed to have anti-osteoporotic effects however the candidate genes involved in it remained unknown. In line with this, the present study is focused to elucidate the anti-osteoporotic property of Litsea glutinosa (LG). To understand the proliferative effect and identify involved players, gene expression was studied on the Saos-2 osteocytes in-vitro . The expression profile of candidate genes involved in different signaling pathways such as Egr-2, RUNX2, MAPK3, NFATc1, CREB, ERβ, along with proliferation and apoptotic markers in osteoporosis were selected for the study. The gene expression profile demonstrated a significant up-regulation of Egr-2, RUNX2, MAPK3, CREB, EBβ in the range of 1.5–2.2 folds, whereas NFATc1 was found to be down-regulated up to 0.4 times compared to control when treated with 250 μg/mL of LG. Besides this, anti-apoptosis effect of LG was also supported by flow cytometry results which also proved that LG induces proliferation and inhibits apoptosis, suggesting the proliferative role of LG. In conclusion, the present study gathers the potency of LG extract for its proliferative and anti-apoptotic effect on Saos-2 osteocytes and opens a new avenue for detailing the mechanistic actions of it on mitigating the pathophysiology of osteoporosis.

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Background Organophosphates and Pyrethroids are the most widely used pesticides worldwide and are known to have significant toxicity on the nervous system of the target pest. Assessment for combined toxicity of Organophosphate and Pyrethroid on Sf9 (Spodoptera frugiperda) cells is less explored. The present study demonstrates and compares the two organochemicals whose trade names are Ammo and Profex, for its cytotoxic potential on the insect Sf9 cells. Ammo and Profex were selected as the test chemicals as toxicity of these insecticides at molecular and cellular level is poorly understood. Results The results of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide assay demonstrated that Ammo and Profex exhibited significant cytotoxicity to Sf9 cells in a time- and dose-dependent manner. In our study, the IC50 value was obtained by MTT assay and the sub-lethal concentrations (IC50/20-17.5 µg/ml, IC50/10-35 µg/ml, and IC50/5–70 µg/ml for Ammo and IC50/20-20 µg/ml, IC50/10-40 µg/ml, and IC50/5-80 µg/ml for Profex) were selected for further tests. Acridine orange/ethidium bromide staining proved the apoptotic cell death on exposure of both the insecticides confirming its toxic potential. Furthermore, antioxidant status was assessed using DCF-DA staining and both the insecticides resulted into an increased reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. A dose- and time-dependent significant (p < 0.05) alterations in lipid peroxidase (LPO), glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) activity were observed. Conclusion The results showed that both Ammo and Profex triggered apoptosis in Sf9 cells through an intrinsic mitochondrial pathway via the generation of ROS. Of the two insecticides, Ammo was found to be more toxic compared to Profex. The present study is important to evaluate the environmental safety and risk factors of Organochemicals’ exposure to crops and livestock.