Jiawei Yanghe Decoction Regulates Bone-Lipid Balance through the BMP-SMAD Signaling Pathway to Promote Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Yunfeng Luo; Hanting Xia; Jiacai Wang; Qian Hu; Yinghua Luo; Jiangyuan Liu; Zhijun Yang; Wei Li; Hongyu Wang; Fuwei Li; Zhaochong Mao; Wenlong Yang; Fengyun Yang

doi:10.1155/2022/2885419

Jiawei Yanghe Decoction Regulates Bone-Lipid Balance through the BMP-SMAD Signaling Pathway to Promote Osteogenic Differentiation of Bone Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Jun 20:2022:2885419. doi: 10.1155/2022/2885419. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Yunfeng Luo¹, Hanting Xia^{2

3}, Jiacai Wang², Qian Hu⁴, Yinghua Luo⁵, Jiangyuan Liu¹, Zhijun Yang¹, Wei Li⁶, Hongyu Wang¹, Fuwei Li¹, Zhaochong Mao¹, Wenlong Yang², Fengyun Yang²

Affiliations

¹ Graduate School, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330000, Jiangxi, China.
² Department of Orthopedics, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330000, Jiangxi, China.
³ Institute of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou 310005, Zhejiang, China.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Nanchang County Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330000, Jiangxi, China.
⁵ Department of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Affiliated Hospital of Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang 330000, Jiangxi, China.
⁶ Department of Orthopedics, Shenzhen Pingle Orthopaedic Hospital, Shenzhen 518038, Guangdong, China.

Abstract

Background: The Jiawei Yanghe decoction (JWYHD) is a traditional Chinese medicine formula for the treatment of osteoporosis, but its therapeutic mechanism has not been fully elucidated, and the therapeutic target of the intervention disease needs to be further verified. The dysfunction of bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) is considered to be an important pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP). The purpose of this study was to explore how JWYHD regulates BMSC differentiation through the BMP-SMAD signal pathway.

Methods: In the in vivo study, we used an ovariectomized PMOP rat (n = 36, 2-month-old, 200 ± 20 g) model and femur micro-CT analysis to study the effect of JWYHD on bone loss in rats. By immunofluorescence, the translocation expression of BMP2, a key protein in the pathway, was detected. Serum bone metabolism was detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity was detected by alkaline phosphatase staining (ALPS), osteogenesis and matrix mineralization were detected by alizarin red staining (ARS), the adipogenic ability of BMSCs was detected by oil red staining (ORS), and CFU is used to detect the ability of cells to form colonies. The expression of related proteins was detected by western blotting.

Results: In vivo and in vitro, the OP phenotypes of SD rats induced by ovariectomy (OVX) included impaired bone mineral density and microstructure, abnormal bone metabolism, and impaired MSC differentiation potential. JWYHD treatment reversed this trend and restored the differentiation potential of MSCs. JWYHD medicated serum and direct intervention of drugs activated the BMP-SMAD signaling pathway, promoted the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs, and inhibited their adipogenic differentiation.

Conclusions: Our data identified that JWYHD is an effective alternative drug for the treatment of PMOP that functions to stimulate the differentiation of BMSCs into osteoblasts in the BMP-SMAD signaling-dependent mechanism.