The effect of quercetin on sox9 and collagen ii expressions in spheno-occipital synchondroses

Abstract

AIM: Quercetin is a flavonoid phytoestrogen that stimulates osteoblasts. Spheno-occipital synchondrosis is an important growth centre of the craniofacial skeleton; its growth affects the positions of both the maxilla and mandible, sagittally and vertically. It is important to identify chemicals that affect its growth. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of quercetin on growth of the spheno-occipital synchondrosis by measuring the expressions of Sox9 and type II collagen, using an in vitro mouse model. MATERIALS AND METHOD: A total of 50 spheno-occipital synchondroses and surrounding tissue dissected from 1-dayold male BALB/c mice were randomly assigned to a control and experimental group. Each group was subdivided into five different time points (6, 24, 48, 72 and 168 hours) and each subgroup contained five synchondroses. In the experimental group, the spheno-occipital synchondroses were immersed in Biggers, Gwatkin, Judah tissue culuture medium (BGJb) and 1 mM quercetin solution. In the control group, the spheno-occipital synchondroses were immersed in the BGJb medium. Tissue sections were subjected to immunohistochemical staining for quantitative analysis of Sox9 and type II collagen expression, using image analyzer. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase of 32.3 per cent (P < 0.001) in the expression of Sox9 in the experimental group compared with the control group at 24 hours. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant increase of 23.0 per cent (P < 0.001) in the expression of type II collagen in the experimental group compared with the control group at 72 hours. CONCLUSION: Quercetin increased the growth response of spheno-occipital synchondrosis through increasing expressions of Sox9 and type II collagen.