Morroniside ameliorates glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis and promotes osteoblastogenesis by interacting with sodium-glucose cotransporter 2

Morroniside (MOR) possesses antiosteoporosis (OP) effects, but its molecular target and relevant mechanisms remain unknown. We investigated the effects of MOR on glucocorticoid-induced OP and osteoblastogenesis and its underlying mechanisms. The effects of MOR (10-100 μM) on the proliferation and differentiation of MC3T3-E1 cells were studied in vitro. The glucocorticoid-induced zebrafish OP model was treated with 10, 20 and 40 μM MOR for five days to evaluate its effects on vertebral bone density and related osteogenic markers. In addition, molecular targets prediction and molecular docking analysis were carried out to explore the binding interactions of MOR with the target proteins. In cultured MC3T3-E1 cells, 20 μM MOR significantly increased cell viability (1.64 ± 0.12 vs. 0.95 ± 0.16; p