Acemannan induces proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow stromal cells

Objective: To investigate the effect of acemannan on the proliferation and enzyme alkaline phosphatase activity of rat bone marrow stromal cells Methods: Acemannan isolated from aloe vera gel was characterized by Gel sized exclusion chromatography (KS-804, Shodex, Japan). The primary bone marrow cells of male, Sprague Dawley rats were treated with acemannan at different concentrations (0.25, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 mg/ml) for 24 hours. After that, [³H]-thymidine incorporation assay was performed to determine cell proliferation. To investigate the effect of acemannan on bone marrow stromal cell differentiation, cells were treated with acemannan for 9 days, and then enzyme alkaline phosphatase activity was measured. Results: Acemannan, at concentration 0.5 and 1 mg/ml, significantly induced proliferation of the bone marrow stromal cells (p<0.05). Acemannan, 0.5 mg/ml, also induced the alkaline phosphatase activity of bone marrow stromal cells as compared with the control group. Conclusion: These findings suggest that acemannan stimulates the proliferation and alkaline phosphatase activity of bone marrow stromal cells. This study was supported by Asahi Glass Foundation and Chulalongkorn University 2005.