The Role of Flavonoids in the Osteogenic Differentiation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) play an important role in developing bone tissue engineered constructs due to their osteogenic and chondrogenic differentiation potential. MSC-based tissue engineered constructs are generally considered a safe procedure, however, the long-term results obtained up to now are far from satisfactory. The main causes of these therapeutic limitations are inefficient homing, engraftment, and directional differentiation. Flavonoids are a secondary metabolite, widely existed in nature and have many biological activities. For a long time, researchers have confirmed the anti-osteoporosis effect of flavonoids through in vitro cell experiments, animal studies. In recent years the regulatory effects of flavonoids on mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) differentiation have been received increasingly attention. Recent studies revealed flavonoids possess the ability to modulate self-renewal and differentiation potential of MSCs. In order to facilitate further research on MSCs osteogenic differentiation of flavonoids, we surveyed the literature published on the use of flavonoids in osteogenic differentiation of MSCs, and summarized their pharmacological activities as well as the underlying mechanisms, aimed to explore their promising therapeutic application in bone disorders and bone tissue engineered constructs.

Induction effect combination of Nigella sativa extract and bovine bone graft to the area of woven bone on the preservation socket post-tooth extraction

“…Flavonoids are secondary metabolites that have many biological activities. Many studies reveal that flavonoids can modulate potential self-regeneration and osteogenic differentiation by targeting several signaling pathways such as the Wnt/β-catenin pathway, the ERK pathway, the PI3K/Akt pathway, and regulate bone-specific markers and transcription factors including ALP, RUNX2, BMP-2, Cbfa1, Osx [14][15][16].…”

Noninvasive and Microinvasive Nanoscale Drug Delivery Platforms for Hard Tissue Engineering

“…109 As previously mentioned, some phytochemicals, like flavonoids, stimulate bone formation and MSC differentiation. 110 Because of these beneficial properties, nanoscale carrier systems could be developed for treating osteoporosis. However, although many exhibit bone tissue modulation activity, very few research studies have been reported related to the use of nanoscale flavonoid carriers.…”

The potential of functionalized dressing releasing flavonoids facilitates scar-free healing

“…Flavonoids have the sibling nucleus flavanone (2-phenylchromanone) and are built on a flavonoid backbone of C6 (A ring)-C3 (C ring)-C6 (B ring), where the hydrogen in the backbone is usually replaced by different groups such as hydroxyl, methoxy, and glycosyl groups, which affect their biological activity ( 26 ). Depending on the backbone structure and hydroxyl group position, flavonoids, including orangiferin, apigenin, quercetin, catechin, and silymarin, can be classified as flavones, flavonols, flavanones and so on ( 27 ). As secondary metabolites of plants, flavonoids are widely distributed in plants; for example, quercetin is abundant in rutin and hawthorn, apigenin in high amounts in chamomile, catechins can be recovered from green tea, and Silybum marianum is produced from the fruits of the plant Silybum marianum.…”