Polycan, a β-glucan from Aureobasidium pullulans SM-2001, mitigates ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis in rats

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the protective effects of Polycan, a β-glucan from Aureobasidium pullulans SM-2001, in a rat model of ovariectomy-induced osteoporosis. Ovariectomized (OVX) rats were orally administered 31.25, 62.5 or 125 mg/kg/day Polycan for 126 days, and alterations in body weight, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, failure load, histological profiles and histomorphometric indices were analyzed. In particular, serum levels of osteocalcin, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (bALP), calcium and phosphorus, and the urine deoxypyridinoline/creatinine ratio, were measured. Furthermore, the femur, tibia and lumbar vertebrae were harvested from all rats, and histomorphometrical analyses were conducted in order to assess the mass and structure of the bones, and the rates of bone resorption and formation. One group of rats was treated with alendronate, which served as the reference drug. The results of the present study suggested that Polycan treatment was able to inhibit ovariectomy-induced alterations in bone resorption and turnover in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, the serum expression levels of bALP and all histomorphometrical indices for bone formation were markedly increased in the Polycan-treated groups. These results indicated that Polycan was able to preserve bone mass and strength, and increase the rate of bone formation in OVX rats; thus suggesting that Polycan may be considered a potential effective anti-osteoporosis agent.

Antiosteoporotic effects of 3:1 (g/g) mixed formulation of exopolymers purified fromAureobasidium pullulansSM-2001 andDendropanax morbiferaleaf extracts in ovariectomized rats

“…In the present study, the dose‐dependent antiosteoporotic potential of EAP : DM 3:1 (g/g) was observed in OVX rats, a well‐established rodent model of human osteoporosis (Choi et al, ; Jung et al, ; Kang et al, ), in order to inform the development of this potent and novel formula as an alternative treatment for osteoporosis.…”

“…An estrogen‐deficient ovariectomized (OVX) osteoporosis model using the Sprague‐Dawley rat is useful for the evaluation of osteoporotic drugs, since several parameters are clearly decreased by ovariectomy within 4–6 weeks after operation (Choi et al, ; Jung, Kim, Kim, Choi, & Ku, 2016; Kang et al, ). The OVX rat model was chosen for this study because it shares many characteristics with postmenopausal bone loss, as summarized by other investigators (Frost & Jee, ; Jung et al, ; Kang et al, ), and furthermore, is recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a test species for evaluating the skeletal safety and efficacy of osteoporosis therapies (US Food and Drug Administration, ). Using this model, the effects of a drug can be determined by measuring bone weight, histomorphometric changes in bone mass, bone formation, and bone resorption, as well as blood chemistry, urinalysis, BMD, and bone strength or failure load (FL) (Jung et al, ; Ke, Foley, Simmons, Shen, & Thompson, ; Wronski, Yen, & Scott, ).…”

“…The OVX rat model was chosen for this study because it shares many characteristics with postmenopausal bone loss, as summarized by other investigators (Frost & Jee, ; Jung et al, ; Kang et al, ), and furthermore, is recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a test species for evaluating the skeletal safety and efficacy of osteoporosis therapies (US Food and Drug Administration, ). Using this model, the effects of a drug can be determined by measuring bone weight, histomorphometric changes in bone mass, bone formation, and bone resorption, as well as blood chemistry, urinalysis, BMD, and bone strength or failure load (FL) (Jung et al, ; Ke, Foley, Simmons, Shen, & Thompson, ; Wronski, Yen, & Scott, ). Because significant bone loss is observed in the lumbar spine, femur, and tibia after OVX in rats (Choi et al, ; Jung et al, ; Kang et al, ).…”

“…Using this model, the effects of a drug can be determined by measuring bone weight, histomorphometric changes in bone mass, bone formation, and bone resorption, as well as blood chemistry, urinalysis, BMD, and bone strength or failure load (FL) (Jung et al, ; Ke, Foley, Simmons, Shen, & Thompson, ; Wronski, Yen, & Scott, ). Because significant bone loss is observed in the lumbar spine, femur, and tibia after OVX in rats (Choi et al, ; Jung et al, ; Kang et al, ).…”

Osteoprotective Properties of RNA-Containing Drug Osteochondrin S on the Model of Insufficiency of Sex Hormones in Rats

“…To reproduce osteoporosis, an ovariectomy model was used, since it is known that hypoestrogenemia is accompanied by the development of osteoporosis (Haddad et al, 2015;Jung. et al, 2016).…”