Objective To investigate the effect of β-catenin on the osteogenic differentiation of human periodontal ligament stem cells (PDLSCs) under mechanical tension.Methods PDLSCs were seperately cultured in vitro from the periodontium attached at freshly extracted teeth.β-catenin-targeting agonist or inhibitor was applied to the PDLSCs to upregulate or downregulate the expression of activity of β-catenin protein.The expression of β-catenin protein and the osteogenetic related markers(ALP,BMP2,Runx 2) under the mechanical tension with different period(0,6,12,24 h) were assessed with Western blot in the PDLSCs irritated with agonist or inhibitor.Results Compared with the PDLSCs without mechanical tension,the expression of osteogenesis related marker proteins,ALP and Runx 2,in PDLSCs were enhanced under the circular mechanial tensile stress (P ＜ 0.05).In the PDLSCs irritated with WAY-262611,the β-catenin-targeting agonist,the expression of osteogenetic related markers ALP in the PDLSCs was improved during the first 12 h period of mechnical tensile load,which was significantly higher than that in the DMSO group.Conclusion Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway plays an important role in the early osteogenesis differentiation of PDLSCs under cyclic tension.The β-catenin promotes osteogenic differentiation of PDLSCs under mechanical tension.