Efficacy and safety of elcatonin in postmenopausal women with osteoporosis: a systematic review with network meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

Metformin Promotes Differentiation and Attenuates H2O2-Induced Oxidative Damage of Osteoblasts via the PI3K/AKT/Nrf2/HO-1 Pathway

At present, the drug treatment of osteoporosis is mostly focused on inhibiting osteoclastogenesis, which has relatively poor effects. Metformin is a drug that can potentially promote osteogenic differentiation and improve bone mass in postmenopausal women. We aimed to detect the molecular mechanism underlying the osteogenic effect of metformin. Our study indicated that metformin obviously increased the Alkaline phosphatase activity and expression of osteogenic marker genes at the mRNA and protein levels. The PI3K/AKT signaling pathway was revealed to play an essential role in the metformin-induced osteogenic process, as shown by RNA sequencing. We added LY294002 to inhibit the PI3K/AKT pathway, and the results indicated that the osteogenic effect of metformin was also blocked. Additionally, the sequencing data also indicated oxidation-reduction reaction was involved in the osteogenic process of osteoblasts. We used H₂O₂ to mimic the oxidative damage of osteoblasts, but metformin could attenuate it. Antioxidative Nrf2/HO-1 pathway, regarded as the downstream of PI3K/AKT pathway, was modulated by metformin in the protective process. We also revealed that metformin could improve bone mass and oxidative level of OVX mice. In conclusion, our study revealed that metformin promoted osteogenic differentiation and H₂O₂-induced oxidative damage of osteoblasts via the PI3K/AKT/Nrf2/HO-1 pathway.

Research trends in osteoporosis in Asian countries and regions in the last 20 years

Asian countries have made great progress in the osteoporosis research over the past 20 years. Mainland China has a significant increase in the number of articles. The scientific influence of Japan ranked by citations was leading in Asia. Indian researchers published fewer articles on osteoporosis, but the overall citation was quite well.

PURPOSE

To analyze the quantity and quality of literature regarding osteoporosis from the Asian countries/regions.

METHODS

Data were obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection on May 4, 2020. Qualitative and quantitative analysis was conducted based on WoS. Keywords analysis was performed using VosView software.

RESULTS

The core countries/regions in Asia in the osteoporosis research included the Mainland China (MC), Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Taiwan, India, and Iran. The core countries/regions published 4798 papers, which accounted for 33.8% of the total globally. The MC with 2242 literature and Japan with 971 were ranked second and fourth worldwide. Over the past decade, MC has published the most articles and increased dramatically. Japan had the highest mean citations and the highest mean citation density. The country with the most publications in the top ten popular osteoporosis-related journals was Japan. The top institutional from the MC, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan published the most articles. The top authors with the most articles were from Japan and MC. Top institutions and authors from Japan, MC, and India led the way in citations. The core countries/regions had more frequent cooperation with the USA, the UK, and Canada compared with the limited cooperation among Asian countries. Osteoporosis research in Asia relies heavily on public funding and pharmaceutical companies. Keywords for these studies have changed over the past 20 years.

CONCLUSIONS

Asian countries have made progress in the osteoporosis research over the past 20 years. The MC has a significant increase in the number of articles. The scientific influence of Japan ranked by citations was leading in Asia. Indian researchers published fewer articles on osteoporosis, but the overall quality was quite well. The core Asian countries/regions should strengthen in-depth cooperation in the future.