Danggui Buxue Tang promotes the adhesion and migration of bone marrow stromal cells via the focal adhesion pathway in vitro.

Ethnopharmacology Relevance: Danggui Buxue Tang has been used in China to treat clinical anemia for more than 800 years. However, there is no scientific report on its effect on bone marrow stromal cells.

Aim Of The Study: Here, we aimed to explore the effect of Danggui Buxue Tang on bone marrow stromal cell adhesion and migration.

Materials And Methods: Bone marrow stromal cells were used as a model to evaluate the effect of Danggui Buxue Tang on the adhesion and migration of bone marrow stromal cells. RNA-sequencing, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and western blotting were used to detect and confirm the expression of genes related to the focal adhesion pathway before and after drug delivery.

Results: Danggui Buxue Tang significantly increased the number of bone marrow stromal cells. After 12 days of 16 mg/mL Danggui Buxue Tang treatment, bone marrow stromal cells were significantly increased (by 0.527 ± 0.008 fold; p < 0.001) as compared to the control group (0.180 ± 0.019). The effect was not due to enhanced cell proliferation, as there was no difference in the cell cycle (p > 0.05). The adhesion area of a single cell was doubled by Danggui Buxue Tang treatment (p < 0.001), and the time required for cell adhesion to a Petri dish was shortened. Thus, Danggui Buxue Tang increases the number of bone marrow stromal cells by promoting adhesion. Danggui Buxue Tang also significantly promoted bone marrow stromal cell migration (p <  0.001). Transcript analysis revealed that the focal adhesion and PI3K-Akt signaling pathways were activated. Expression analysis confirmed that the gene and protein expression of focal adhesion-related factors were upregulated.

Conclusion: Danggui Buxue Tangaffects bone marrow stromal cell adhesion and migration by enhancing the focal adhesion pathway in vitro, and bone marrow stromal cells are a target of DBT-regulated hematopoiesis, and the active ingredients of DBT involved in the effects require further investigation.