Acetone Extracts of Sea Urchin Anthocidaris crassispina Stimulate Osteogenesis and Adipogenesis in Mouse Mesenchymal Stem Cells

In this study, it was found that the acetone extracts of Anthocidaris crassispina could stimulate both osteogenesis and adipogenesis in mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). The sea urchin was disparted into three parts: shell, spindle and gonad (Sh, Sp and G in short, respectively), and extracted with acetone. Either with or without inducers, Sp and G at concentrations of 0.2 or 0.5 mg/ml remarkably stimulated the ALP activity and the formation of fat droplets in MSC osteogenesis and adipogenesis, respectively. However, Sh displayed no significant effect on either of the differentiations. Moreover, the expression levels of Runx2 and PPARγ2 were also up-regulated upon Sp and G treatments significantly, but not with Sh treatment. Our study demonstrated for the first time that the Sp and G from A. crassispina may be beneficial in the prevention of some bone related diseases and insulin resistance via its potency to stimulate osteogenesis and adipogenesis of MSCs.