Anti‐Postmenopausal osteoporosis effects of Isopsoralen: A bioinformatics‐integrated experimental study

Abstract

Abstract Isopsoralen (IPRN), which comes from the fruit of Psoralea corylifolia , has been identified as a kind of phytoestrogen and has been proven to be effective for the treatment of osteoporosis (OP). However, the mechanisms underlying IPRN's anti‐OP effects, especially the anti‐postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP) effects, remain indistinct. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanisms of IPRN's anti‐PMOP activity. In this study, the bioinformatics results predicted that IPRN could resist PMOP by targeting EGFR, AKT1, SRC, CCND1, ESR1 (ER‐α), AR, PGR, BRCA1, PTGS2, and IGF1R. An ovariectomized (OVX) mice model and a H 2 O 2 ‐induced bone marrow mesenchyml stem cells (BMSCs) model confirmed that IPRN could inhibit the bone loss induced by OVX in mice and promote the osteogenic differentiation in H 2 O 2 ‐induced BMSCs by inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptosis. Moreover, IPRN could significantly produce the above effects by upregulating ESR1. IPRN might be a therapeutic agent for PMOP by acting as an estrogen replacement agent and a natural antioxidant.