| Objective To investigate the effect of Wulao Qisun Formula on the osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) and its underlying mechanism. Methods hBMSCs were cultured in vitro and divided into the following groups: Control, IL-17A, Blank Serum (20% blank serum), 20%, 10%, and 5% of Wulao Qisun Formula-containing serum, and Inhibitor (15 μg/mL Secukinumab). Cells in the control group were cultured in osteogenic induction medium without IL-17A, while cells in all other groups were treated with 50 ng/mL of IL-17A in addition to the respective serum interventions. The optimal concentration of Wulao Qisun Formula-containing serum was determined using CCK-8 assay. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and Alizarin red staining with quantitative analysis were used to assess osteogenic mineralization. Inflammatory cytokine levels were measured with ELISA. The expressions of key molecules in the IL-17A–Wnt/β-catenin pathway was evaluated via RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. Results CCK-8 results identified 5%, 10%, and 20% as suitable concentrations of Wulao Qisun Formula-containing serum for subsequent experiments. Compared with the control group, the IL-17A group showed increased ALP activity, darker staining, more mineralized nodules, elevated levels of IL-17A, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α, upregulation of Act1, Wnt3a, β-catenin, and Axin2 protein expression, downregulation of GSK-3β, and increased mRNA levels of Runx2, OCN, and Osx. No significant differences were observed between the IL-17A and blank serum groups in any of these indicators. In contrast, all Wulao Qisun Formula-containing serum groups and the inhibitor group exhibited significantly reduced ALP activity, fewer mineralized nodules, decreased inflammatory cytokine levels, downregulated expression of IL-17RA, Act1, TRAF6, Wnt3a, β-catenin, Axin2, Runx2, OCN, and Osx, increased GSK-3β expression, and reduced mean fluorescence intensity of IL-17RA, β-catenin, and Runx2. Conclusion Wulao Qisun Formula inhibits the osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs by suppressing the IL-17A–Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and downregulating osteogenesis-related factors. |