Effects and mechanism of total flavonoids extracted from Cuscuta chinensis on osteogenic differentiation of dental pulp stem cells

Bone defects can be caused by a variety of reasons, how to effectively repair these bone defects has always been a clinical problem. Cuscuta chinensis has a regulatory effect on bone metabolism and bone regeneration, but the specific molecular mechanism of total flavonoids extracted from Cuscuta chinensis (TFCC) in the osteogenic differentiation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) is still unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect and mechanism of TFCC on the osteogenic ability of hDPSCs. RNA sequencing, bioinformatics, western blotting and scratch assay were employed in the study. The scratch assay showed that TFCC promoted scratch healing. On the 7th and 14th day of culture, TFCC promoted the expression of osteogenic differentiation related proteins; Runx2 and OPN. After adding the Wnt signaling pathway inhibitor (XAV-939), TFCC could reverse the inhibitory effect of the inhibitor on the expression of osteogenic related proteins β-catenin and (lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1) LEF-1. In summary, TFCC may promote osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs through the Wnt signaling pathway. This study provided new ideas for the further development and application of TFCC as a traditional Chinese medicine in the repair and treatment of bone defects.