Berberine, a Chinese medical herbal extract, plays a key role in antidiabetic, antiangiogenesis, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, anticancer, and antihypercholesterolemic. Our previous studies revealed that berberine exerted odontoprotective effect by increasing odontoblast differentiation. However, the mechanisms involved in the odontoprotective effect of berberine have not been fully explored. The Wnt/β-catenin pathway is involved in odontoblast differentiation of dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs). If β-catenin is nuclear translocation, the Wnt/β-catenin pathway is activation. In this study, DPSCs were treated with or without berberine. Then, we examined the accelerative effects of berberine on odontoblast differentiation and mineralized nodules formation by real-time polymerase chain reaction, alizarin red S staining, and alkaline phosphatase staining. In addition, while treated with berberine, β-catenin translocated to the nucleus evaluated by western blot and immunofluorescent staining. Our results revealed that berberine functions as a promoter of odontoblast differentiation by promoting Wnt/β-catenin pathway, suggesting that it may be useful in guiding therapeutic strategies for the treatment of dental caries.

中文翻译：

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小碱通过Wnt /β-Catenin活化促进成牙本质细胞分化。

小ber碱是一种中草药提取物，在抗糖尿病，抗血管生成，抗炎，抗微生物，抗癌和抗高胆固醇血症中起关键作用。我们以前的研究表明，小ber碱可通过增加成牙本质细胞的分化来发挥其对牙本质的保护作用。但是，尚未完全探讨小ber碱的牙本质保护作用的机制。Wnt /β-catenin途径参与牙髓干细胞（DPSC）的成牙本质细胞分化。如果β-catenin是核易位，则Wnt /β-catenin途径是激活。在这项研究中，DPSCs用或不使用小ber碱治疗。然后，我们通过实时聚合酶链反应，茜素红S染色，检测了小ber碱对成牙本质细胞分化和矿化结节形成的促进作用，和碱性磷酸酶染色。另外，当用小ber碱处理时，通过蛋白质印迹和免疫荧光染色评估了β-catenin易位至细胞核。我们的研究结果表明，小ber碱通过促进Wnt /β-catenin途径作为成牙本质细胞分化的启动子，提示其可能在指导治疗龋齿的治疗策略中有用。