Effect of chicken sternum cartilage on bone mineral density and its mechanism.

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is defined by decreased bone mineral density (BMD) - a core factor for bone strength and fracture risk - with progression often exacerbated by chronic inflammation. However, the role of chicken sternum cartilage (CSC) in improving bone health and its anti-inflammatory-related mechanisms remain unclear. Thus, this study investigated CSC's effect on bone health and elucidated its potential anti-inflammatory mechanism.

RESULTS

In vitro experiments using MC3T3-E1 osteoblasts showed that CSC at a concentration of 1 mg mL-1 significantly promoted the growth, differentiation, and mineralization of osteoblasts while effectively reversing the cellular damage induced by the inflammatory factor tumor necrosis factor-alpha; in vivo experiments on rats demonstrated that CSC administered at a dose of 3.33 mg kg-1 body weight significantly increased bone density from 1.0648 ± 0.04 to 1.1427 ± 0.05 (P < 0.05), further validating its positive effect on bone health; and in mechanism exploration via protein-protein docking (with UC-II, the crucial component of CSC, selected as the target), ARG10 was identified as the key site for the formation of UC-II-HLA-DR1, UC-II-PD-1, and UC-II-CTLA-4 complexes, with hydrogen bonds and salt bridges confirmed as the primary forces involved in complex formation.

CONCLUSION

This study confirms that CSC improves bone health by promoting osteoblast function in vitro and increasing bone density in vivo, and clarifies its anti-inflammatory mechanism, providing a novel perspective for chicken cartilage in bone health protection. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.