School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 440-746, Korea.
J Ginseng Res. 2011 Sep;35(3):272-82. doi: 10.5142/jgr.2011.35.3.272.
Ginseng (Panax ginseng Meyer) has been shown to have anti-aging effects in animal and clinical studies. However, the molecular mechanisms by which ginseng exerts these effects remain unknown. Here, the anti-aging effect of Korean red ginseng (KRG) in rat testes was examined by system biology analysis. KRG water extract prepared in feed pellets was administered orally into 12 month old rats for 4 months, and gene expression in testes was determined by microarray analysis. Microarray analysis identified 33 genes that significantly changed. Compared to the 2 month old young rats, 13 genes (Rps9, Cyp11a1, RT1-A2, LOC365778, Sv2b, RGD1565959, RGD1304748, etc.) were up-regulated and 20 genes (RT1-Db1, Cldn5, Svs5, Degs1, Vdac3, Hbb, LOC684355, Svs5, Tmem97, Orai1, Insl3, LOC497959, etc.) were down-regulated by KRG in the older rats. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of untreated aged rats versus aged rats treated with KRG showed that the affected most was Cyp11a1, responsible for C21-steroid hormone metabolism, and the top molecular and cellular functions are organ morphology and reproductive system development and function. When genes in young rat were compared with those in the aged rat, sperm capacitation related genes were down-regulated in the old rat. However, when genes in the old rat were compared with those in the old rat treated with KRG, KRG treatment up-regulated C21-steroid hormone metabolism. Taken together, Cyp11a1 expression is decreased in the aged rat, however, it is up-regulated by KRG suggesting that KRG seems enhance testes function via Cyp11a1.
人参（Panax ginseng Meyer）在动物和临床研究中已显示出抗衰老作用。然而，人参发挥这些作用的分子机制尚不清楚。在这里，通过系统生物学分析研究了高丽红参（KRG）对大鼠睾丸的抗衰老作用。将 KRG 水提取物制备成饲料丸，口服给予 12 月龄大鼠 4 个月，并通过微阵列分析确定睾丸中的基因表达。微阵列分析鉴定出 33 个显著变化的基因。与 2 月龄的年轻大鼠相比，13 个基因（Rps9、Cyp11a1、RT1-A2、LOC365778、Sv2b、RGD1565959、RGD1304748 等）上调，20 个基因（RT1-Db1、Cldn5、Svs5、Degs1、Vdac3、Hbb、LOC684355、Svs5、Tmem97、Orai1、Insl3、LOC497959 等）下调。未处理的老年大鼠与用 KRG 处理的老年大鼠的 IPA 分析表明，受影响最大的是 Cyp11a1，负责 C21-类固醇激素代谢，而顶级的分子和细胞功能是器官形态和生殖系统发育和功能。当将年轻大鼠的基因与老年大鼠的基因进行比较时，老年大鼠的精子获能相关基因下调。然而，当将老年大鼠的基因与用 KRG 处理的老年大鼠的基因进行比较时，KRG 处理上调了 C21-类固醇激素代谢。总之，Cyp11a1 在老年大鼠中表达下调，但 KRG 上调，表明 KRG 似乎通过 Cyp11a1 增强睾丸功能。
