Silibinin is a polyphenolic flavonoid compound isolated from milk thistle (
Silybum marianum), with known hepatoprotective, anticarcinogenic, and antioxidant effects. Herein, we show that silibinin inhibits receptor
activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)-induced osteoclastogenesis from RAW264.7 cells as well as from bone marrow-derived monocyte/macrophage
cells in a dose-dependent manner. Silibinin has no effect on the expression of RANKL or the soluble RANKL decoy receptor osteoprotegerin
(OPG) in osteoblasts. However, we demonstrate that silibinin can block the activation of NF-κB, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK),
p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in osteoclast precursors in response
to RANKL. Furthermore, silibinin attenuates the induction of nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) c1 and osteoclast-associated
receptor (OSCAR) expression during RANKL-induced osteoclastogenesis. We demonstrate that silibinin can inhibit TNF-α-induced
osteoclastogenesis as well as the expression of NFATc1 and OSCAR. Taken together, our results indicate that silibinin has
the potential to inhibit osteoclast formation by attenuating the downstream signaling cascades associated with RANKL and TNF-α.
Keywords gene regulation - osteoclast differentiation - RANKL - Silibinin - TNF