ABSTRACT
Angelica tenuissima Nakai (ATN) is an herbal medicine used to treat toothache, headaches, and cold symptoms. However, the therapeutic effects of ATN have not been thoroughly identified. The purpose of this research was to explore the effect of ATN in osteo/odontoblastic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs). The influences of ATN on the differentiation and proliferation of hPDLSCs were evaluated using alizarin red S staining, real-time PCR, western blot and MTT assay. ATN promoted osteo/odontoblastic differentiation of hPDLSCs, accelerated mineral nodule formation in vitro, and displayed no toxicity at higher concentrations. The mRNA expression levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), type I collagen (COL1), osteopontin (OPN), dentin matrix acidic phosphoprotein 1 (DMP-1), and dentin sialophosphoprotein (DSPP) in hPDLSCs and the protein levels of osteocalcin (OCN), DSPP, DMP-1, and Runx2 were significantly higher after ATN treatment. HEK293 cells overexpressing the osterix (OSX) gene and treated with ATN (100 µg/mL) showed an increase in BSP promoter activity.Those results suggest that ATN enhances the osteo/odontoblastic differentiation of hPDLSCs. These therapeutic properties of ATN can serve as a theoretical basis for further research on the applicability of ATN in periodontal tissue regeneration.