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Background: The purpose of the current study was to explore the role and underlying mechanism of FGF-2 in dexamethasone (DEX)-induced apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 cells. Methods: GSE21727 was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) by the limma/R package. MC3T3-E1 cells were exposed to DEX at different concentrations (0, 10−8, 10−7, 10−6, 10−5 and 10−4 mol/L), and cell viability, flow cytometry and TUNEL assay were used to detect cell proliferation and apoptosis. An FGF-2-pcDNA3 plasmid (oe-FGF-2) was used to overexpress FGF-2, and western blotting was conducted to detect protein expression. Results: We found that FGF-2 was downregulated in the DEX-treated group. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses indicated that DEGs were associated with PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. DEX downregulated FGF-2 gene and protein expression, inhibited viability and induced MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis. Overexpression of FGF-2 reversed DEX-induced apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 cells. FGF-2-mediated anti-apoptosis was impaired by inactivating the PI3K/AKT pathway with LY294002. Moreover, overexpression of FGF2 delayed the progression of DEX-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) animal model by regulation PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Conclusion: In conclusion, FGF-2 is effective at inhibiting DEX-induced MC3T3-E1 cell apoptosis through regulating PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Si Shen Wan (SSW) is used to effectively treat ulcerative colitis (UC) as a formula of traditional Chinese medicine. To explore the mechanism of SSW-inhibited apoptosis of colonic epithelial cell, the study observed mRNA expression of apoptosis-related molecules in p38 MAPK signal pathway in colonic mucosa in colitis mice treated with SSW. Experimental colitis was induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) in mice; meanwhile, the mice were administrated daily either SSW (5 g/kg) or p38 MAPK inhibitor (2 mg/kg) or vehicle (physiological saline) for 10 days. While microscopical evaluation was observed, apoptosis rate of colonic epithelial cell and mRNA expression of apoptosis-related molecules were tested. Compared with colitis mice without treatment, SSW alleviated colonic mucosal injuries and decreased apoptosis rate of colonic epithelial cell, while the mRNA expressions of p38 MAPK, p53, caspase-3, c-jun, c-fos, Bax, and TNF-α were decreased in the colonic mucosa in colitis mice treated with SSW, and Bcl-2 mRNA and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax were increased. The present study demonstrated that SSW inhibited mRNA expression of apoptosis-related molecules in p38 MAPK signal pathway to downregulate colonic epithelial cells apoptosis in colonic mucosa in mice with colitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]