Abstract: The present study was designed to investigate the repairing effect of lactoferrin (Lf) on triadimefon (TDF)-induced damage of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs). The CCK-8 assay was used to evaluate the proliferation of BMSCs. After being treated with TDF and Lf, the cells were collected for determining the activities of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OCN), and the changes in osteogenic and adipogenic gene expression. The osteogenic differentiation capacity was evaluated using alizarin red staining and adipogenic differentiation using oil red O staining. The expression of adipogenic and osteogenic genes was analyzed by reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Compared with the blank control group, Lf at all concentrations tested promoted cell proliferation (P < 0.05). Lf increased cell survival rate, elevated ALP activity and OCN content in the damaged cells, increased the formation of mineralized nodules, reduced the formation of lipid droplets, increased the relative expression of osteogenic differentiation-related genes, and decreased the relative expression of genes involved in adipogenic differentiation. According to our results, Lf can promote the proliferation of BMSCs damaged by TDF, and the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells into osteogenic direction, thereby promoting the formation of new bone and consequently repairing of cell damage.

Key words: triadimefon, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells, lactoferrin, differentiation, repairing