Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Ginsenoside has anti-tumor, anti-oxidative, anti-fatigue, anti-aging, hypolipidemic, memory enhancement, immunity enhancement effects, and Rb1 and Rg1 are the most important active components of ginsenosides. However, it is unclear whether ginsenoside Rg1 also protects against apoptosis in PC12 cells induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD).
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of pretreatment with ginsenoside Rg1 on PC12 cell viability, survivin and caspase-3 expression and apoptosis in PC12 cells induced by OGD/reperfusion.
METHODS: In the OGD/reperfusion model, the PC12 cells were pretreated with 5, 10, 20, 40 μmol/L ginsenoside Rg1. Normal cells were used as controls. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Expression of survivin and caspase-3 proteins was measured by immunocytochemistry. Apoptosis in PC12 cells was detected by TUNEL assay.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The cell viability was significantly decreased after OGD/reperfusion (P < 0.05). Pretreatment with ginsenoside Rg1 could elevate the cell viability, but it was still lower than the normal level (P < 0.05). (2) Pretreatment with ginsenoside Rg1 increased survivin positive cells, but decreased caspase-3 positive cells and TUNEL positive cells. (3) Neuronal apoptosis was negatively correlated with the ginsenoside Rg1-induced survivin, but positively correlated with the caspase-3. All these findings indicate that ginsenoside Rg1 pretreatment can promote the expression of survivin in PC12 cells after OGD/reperfusion, and moreover, this promotion effect on survivin can further inhibit the expression of caspase-3, thereby suppression apoptosis in PC12 cells, in a dose-dependent manner.

中国组织工程研究杂志出版内容重点：组织构建；骨细胞；软骨细胞；细胞培养；成纤维细胞；血管内皮细胞；骨质疏松；组织工程

Key words: Ginsenosides, Caspase 3, Tissue Engineering