Department of Respiratory Medicine, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, 1665 Kongjiang Road, Shanghai 200092, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2017;2017:7171404. doi: 10.1155/2017/7171404. Epub 2017 Aug 13.
Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process associated with airway remodeling in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which leads to progressive pulmonary destruction. is a traditional herbal medicine that has been shown to improve pulmonary function and exercise capacity in patients with COPD. Ginsenoside Rg1 is one of the main active components and was shown to inhibit oxidative stress and inflammation. The present study investigated the hypothesis that ginsenoside Rg1 attenuates EMT in COPD rats induced by cigarette smoke (CS) and human bronchial epithelial (HBE) cells exposed to cigarette smoke extract (CSE). Our data showed that CS or CSE exposure increased expression of the mesenchymal marker -smooth muscle actin (-SMA) and decreased expression of the epithelial marker epithelial cadherin (E-cad) in both lung tissues and HBE cells, which was markedly suppressed by ginsenoside Rg1. Importantly, CS-induced upregulation of TGF-1/Smad pathway components, including TGF-1, TGF-R1, phospho-Smad2, and phospho-Smad3, was also inhibited by ginsenoside Rg1. Additionally, ginsenoside Rg1 mimicked the effect of SB525334, a TGF-R1-Smad2/3 inhibitor, on suppression of EMT in CSE-induced HBE cells. Collectively, we concluded that ginsenoside Rg1 alleviates CS-induced pulmonary EMT, in both COPD rats and HBE cells, via inhibition of the TGF-1/Smad pathway.
上皮-间充质转化 (EMT) 是与慢性阻塞性肺疾病 (COPD) 气道重塑相关的过程,导致进行性肺破坏。是一种传统的草药,已被证明可以改善 COPD 患者的肺功能和运动能力。人参皂苷 Rg1 是主要的活性成分之一,已被证明可抑制氧化应激和炎症。本研究假设人参皂苷 Rg1 可减轻香烟烟雾 (CS) 诱导的 COPD 大鼠和香烟烟雾提取物 (CSE) 暴露的人支气管上皮 (HBE) 细胞中的 EMT。我们的数据表明,CS 或 CSE 暴露增加了肺组织和 HBE 细胞中间充质标志物 -平滑肌肌动蛋白 (-SMA)的表达,并降低了上皮标志物上皮钙黏蛋白 (E-cad)的表达,而人参皂苷 Rg1 则明显抑制了这一表达。重要的是,CS 诱导的 TGF-1/Smad 通路成分上调,包括 TGF-1、TGF-R1、磷酸化 Smad2 和磷酸化 Smad3,也被人参皂苷 Rg1 抑制。此外,人参皂苷 Rg1 模拟了 TGF-R1-Smad2/3 抑制剂 SB525334 对 CSE 诱导的 HBE 细胞 EMT 抑制的作用。综上所述,我们得出结论,人参皂苷 Rg1 通过抑制 TGF-1/Smad 通路缓解 CS 诱导的 COPD 大鼠和 HBE 细胞中的肺 EMT。