Institute of Orthopaedics, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an 710032, China.
Brain Res. 2010 Oct 21;1357:19-25. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2010.07.091. Epub 2010 Aug 2.
Ginsenoside Rb1 (GRb1) and ginsenoside Rg1 (GRg1), two major ingredients in ginseng root, have gained extensive attention because of its neuroprotective properties. Thus far, most of the studies on GRb1 and GRg1 have been focused on their neuroprotective effects on neurons. The potential beneficial effects of GRb1 and GRg1 on Schwann cells have not been investigated comprehensively. The present study was designed to examine the possible beneficial effect of GRb1 and GRg1 on proliferation and expression of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in Schwann cells. Schwann cells were incubated without or with GRb1 and GRg1 at different doses. The proliferation of Schwann cells was examined by cell counting. The expression and secretion of NGF and BDNF were examined by western blotting and ELISA. We found that both GRb1 and GRg1 were capable of increasing the proliferation of, and the expression and secretion of NGF and BDNF in Schwann cells. Further studies showed that both GRb1 and GRg1 were able to increase intracellular cyclic AMP (cAMP) level and protein kinase A (PKA) activity. Preincubation with 10 μM H89 (a PKA inhibitor) significantly inhibited the beneficial effects of GRb1 and GRg1 on Schwann cells. These findings indicate that the beneficial effects of GRb1 and GRg1 on proliferation and expression of NGF and BDNF occurs mainly through the PKA pathway in cultured Schwann cells.
人参根中的两种主要成分人参皂苷 Rb1（GRb1）和人参皂苷 Rg1（GRg1）因其具有神经保护特性而受到广泛关注。迄今为止，大多数关于 GRb1 和 GRg1 的研究都集中在它们对神经元的神经保护作用上。GRb1 和 GRg1 对许旺细胞的潜在有益作用尚未得到全面研究。本研究旨在探讨 GRb1 和 GRg1 对许旺细胞增殖和神经生长因子（NGF）和脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）表达的可能有益作用。将许旺细胞在无或有不同剂量的 GRb1 和 GRg1 的情况下孵育。通过细胞计数检查许旺细胞的增殖。通过 Western blot 和 ELISA 检查 NGF 和 BDNF 的表达和分泌。我们发现，GRb1 和 GRg1 都能够增加许旺细胞的增殖以及 NGF 和 BDNF 的表达和分泌。进一步的研究表明，GRb1 和 GRg1 都能够增加细胞内环腺苷酸（cAMP）水平和蛋白激酶 A（PKA）活性。用 10 μM H89（PKA 抑制剂）预孵育显著抑制了 GRb1 和 GRg1 对许旺细胞的有益作用。这些发现表明，GRb1 和 GRg1 对 NGF 和 BDNF 增殖和表达的有益作用主要通过培养的许旺细胞中的 PKA 途径发生。
