Psoralen Stimulates Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Differentiation Via Activation of cAMP/PKA/CREB Signaling Pathway

Psoralen (PSO), as the predominant substance of Psoralea corylifolia L., is considered to be a phytoestrogen and is used as a remedy for treating osteoporosis. However, the precise mechanism involved remain to be elucidated. This study aimed to investigate the mechanism that participate in PSO-induced BM-MSCs differentiation. To investigate the effect of PSO, we performed experiments using MTT. The affects of PSO on activation of cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway and the related target genes and proteins were examined by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting. The cell lysates were analyzed for alkaline phosphatase by ELISA. The results indicated that PSO significantly stimulates differentiation of BM-MSCs as evidenced by increased mRNA and protein expression of PKA, CREB, BMP2, Smad1 and Runx2. These results identify a critical role of PSO in osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs via modulating cAMP/PKA/CREB signaling pathway. PSO may offer a promise as a potential pharmaceutical therapy for osteoporosis.