Sildenafil promotes osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells and inhibits bone loss by affecting the TGF-β signaling pathway
Hu M., Wu L., Wei E., Pan X., Zhu Q., Xiuyun X.
Prospective Study, published in Stem Cell Res Ther (2025) — summary generated from the PubMed abstract.
Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.
- Level A · Stronger Clinical Evidence
- Level B · Emerging clinical evidence with positive signals
- Level C · Early human research exploring benefits
- Level D · Scientific groundwork from lab and animal studies
- Emerging · Emerging topic under active research
This page is generated from the PubMed record. The Thai description is an automated summary of bibliographic fields and the abstract, not a full translation, and is not medical advice.
- Study type
- Prospective Study
- Journal
- Stem Cell Res Ther (2025)
- Reported sample size
- —
- Source database
- Europe PMC
- PMID
- 40264229
- PMCID
- PMC12016470
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13287-025-04320-7
- Citations
- 2
Abstract (original English)
Background Osteoporosis, a common bone disorder, is primarily managed pharmacologically. However, existing medications are associated with non-trivial side-effects. Sildenafil, which already finds many clinical applications, promotes angiogenesis and cellular differentiation. Osteoporotic patients often exhibit a reduced intraosseous vasculature and impaired cellular differentiation; sildenafil may thus usefully treat osteoporosis. Methods Here, the effects of sildenafil on the osteogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) were explored, as were the molecular mechanisms in play. We treated hMSCs with varying concentrations of sildenafil and measured cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation in vitro. We used a mouse model of subcutaneous ectopic osteogenesis to assess sildenafil's effect on hMSC osteogenic differentiation in vivo. We also explored the effects of sildenafil on bone loss in tail-suspended (TS) and ovariectomized (OVX) mice. Mechanistically, we employed RNA-sequencing to define potentially relevant molecular pathways. Results The appropriate concentrations of sildenafil significantly enhanced osteogenic hMSC differentiation; the optimal sildenafil concentration may be 10 mg/L. Sildenafil mitigated osteoporosis in OVX and TS mice. The appropriate concentrations of sildenafil probably promoted hMSC osteogenic differentiation by acting on
What this study does not prove
- • This study does not prove SVF is an approved treatment or a replacement for standard care.
Evidence level
Early human evidence such as case series or small samples is exploring possible benefits.
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