Berberine inhibits the LPS-induced proliferation and inflammatory response of stromal cells of adenomyosis tissues mediated by the LPS/TLR4 signaling pathway.

A previous study by our group has demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces adenomyosis through stimulating inflammatory cell proliferation and invasive growth of stromal cells via Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) signaling. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of berberine (BBR) on LPS-induced ectopic endometrial stromal cells (EESCs) isolated from patients with adenomyosis. The viability of EESCs treated with LPS or LPS plus BBR was detected by a cell counting kit-8 assay, and the cell cycle distribution and apoptosis were evaluated by flow cytometry. The effect of BBR on the expression of key molecules of inflammatory proliferation and invasive growth of LPS-induced EESCs was also evaluated. BBR significantly inhibited the LPS-induced proliferation of EESCs in a dose- and time-dependent manner. BBR induced cell cycle arrest in G0/G1 phase and enhanced apoptosis of LPS-induced EESCs. Furthermore, BBR inhibited the expression of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-8, transforming growth factor-β, epithelial growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor and matrix metalloproteinase 2 in LPS-induced EESCs. To the best of our knowledge, the present study was the first to demonstrate that BBR has a protective effect on ameliorating the LPS-induced progression of adenomyosis. This result may provide a novel therapeutic strategy for the clinical treatment of the disease.