Shikonin promotes osteogenesis and suppresses osteoclastogenesis in vitro

Shikonin, as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine with a role of anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and other effects. However, there are few studies on the effect of shikonin on osteoporosis. Therefore, the purpose of this study aims to investigate the role and mechanism of shikonin on differentiation of BMSCs and BMMs into osteoblasts and osteoclasts formation. In our study, we treated the cells with different concentrations of shikonin, and then illuminated its effect on oteogenesis and osteoclast differentiation by ALP/alizarin red staining, ALP activity, qRT-PCR, immunofluorescence, Western blot, and TRAP staining. The result showed that shikonin may promote BMSCs differentiate into osteoblasts through the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. At the same time, it may also inhibit the formation of osteoclasts mediated by RANK/RANKL/OPG pathway in vitro. Our research explains excellently the mechanism of shikonin alleviating osteoporosis in vitro, which maybe contributing to the exploration of a new way to prevent osteoporosis.