Lim You-Jin, Na Hee-Sam, Yun Yeon-Sook, Choi Inseon S, Oh Jong-Suk, Rhee Joon-Haeng, Cho Bok-Hee, Lee Hyun-Chul
Department of Microbiology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Brain Korea 21 Project, Center for Biomedical Human Resources at Chonnam National University, Gwangju 501-746, Republic of Korea.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2009;150(1):32-42. doi: 10.1159/000210378. Epub 2009 Apr 2.
Asthma is a major health problem worldwide, and the morbidity and mortality caused by asthma are on the rise. Corticosteroid therapies for asthma treatment frequently induce many side effects. Therefore, the development of new medicines that have both high efficacy and fewer side effects has been a scientific challenge. Here we tested the effect of ginsan, a polysaccharide derived from Panax ginseng, against allergic reaction in an ovalbumin (OVA)-induced murine asthmatic model in comparison with dexamethasone, and investigated its underlying mechanism.
To induce murine asthma, mice were sensitized and challenged with OVA. Ginsan or dexamethasone was administered by injection 3 times a week. Airway hyperresponsiveness, airway inflammation and lung pathology were assessed in order to evaluate the effect of ginsan against asthma.
Ginsan treatment reduced airway hyperresponsiveness, remodeling and eosinophilia. These effects of ginsan were equivalent to those of dexamethasone. Ginsan treatment decreased the IL-5 level in the supernatant of cultured splenocytes, while IFN-gamma and serum IgE were not altered. To elucidate the mechanism of ginsan, expression of inflammation-related genes were screened. Interestingly, ginsan treatment upregulated cyclooxygenase (COX)-1 and COX-2 mRNA, and expression of their proteins in the lung were also increased. PGE(2) in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was also increased by the ginsan treatment. Lastly, ginsan inhibited the allergic reaction aggravated by COX inhibitor (indomethacin).
Ginsan has anti-asthmatic effects, which seem to be partially mediated by enhancing the synthesis of COX gene products.
哮喘是全球主要的健康问题，且由哮喘导致的发病率和死亡率正在上升。用于哮喘治疗的皮质类固醇疗法常常会引发许多副作用。因此，研发兼具高效能和较少副作用的新药一直是一项科学挑战。在此，我们测试了人参多糖（ginsan）——一种从人参中提取的多糖，在卵清蛋白（OVA）诱导的小鼠哮喘模型中与地塞米松相比对过敏反应的影响，并研究了其潜在机制。
为诱导小鼠哮喘，用OVA对小鼠进行致敏和激发。每周注射3次人参多糖或地塞米松。评估气道高反应性、气道炎症和肺部病理情况，以评价人参多糖对哮喘的作用。
人参多糖治疗可降低气道高反应性、重塑和嗜酸性粒细胞增多。人参多糖的这些作用与地塞米松相当。人参多糖治疗可降低培养的脾细胞上清液中的IL-5水平，而IFN-γ和血清IgE未改变。为阐明人参多糖的作用机制，筛选了炎症相关基因的表达。有趣的是，人参多糖治疗上调了环氧化酶（COX）-1和COX-2 mRNA，其在肺中的蛋白表达也增加。人参多糖治疗还使支气管肺泡灌洗液中的PGE2增加。最后，人参多糖抑制了由COX抑制剂（吲哚美辛）加重的过敏反应。
人参多糖具有抗哮喘作用，其作用似乎部分是通过增强COX基因产物的合成来介导的。
