College of Korean Medicine , Gachon University , Seongnam 13120 , Korea.
Department of Medicine , University of Ulsan College of Medicine , Seoul 05505 , Korea.
J Agric Food Chem. 2018 May 9;66(18):4652-4659. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.8b00152. Epub 2018 Apr 26.
Panax ginseng Meyer has been used for the treatment of immune diseases and for strengthening the immune function. In this study, we evaluated the innate immune-stimulating functions and action mechanisms of white ginseng (WG) and heat-processed ginseng (HPG) in RAW264.7 cells. According to LC-MS analysis results, WG contained typical ginsenosides, such as Rb1, Rc, Rb2, Rd, and Rg1, whereas HPG contained Rg3, Rk1, and Rg5 as well as typical ginsenosides. HPG, not WG, enhanced NF-κB transcriptional activity, cytokine production (IL-6 and TNF-α), and MHC class I and II expression in RAW264.7 cells. In addition, HPG phosphorylated MAPKs and NF-kB pathways. In experiments with inhibitors, the ERK inhibitor completely suppressed the effect of HPG on IL-6 and TNF-α production. HPG-induced c-Jun activation was suppressed by an ERK inhibitor and partially suppressed by JNK, p38, and IκBα inhibitors. Collectively, these results suggested that HPG containing Rg3, Rg5, and Rk1 increased macrophage activation which was regulated by the ERK/c-Jun pathway in RAW264.7 cells.
人参被用于治疗免疫性疾病和增强免疫功能。在这项研究中，我们评估了白参（WG）和红参（HPG）在 RAW264.7 细胞中的先天免疫刺激功能和作用机制。根据 LC-MS 分析结果，WG 含有典型的人参皂苷，如 Rb1、Rc、Rb2、Rd 和 Rg1，而 HPG 则含有 Rg3、Rk1 和 Rg5 以及典型的人参皂苷。HPG 而非 WG 增强了 RAW264.7 细胞中的 NF-κB 转录活性、细胞因子产生（IL-6 和 TNF-α）以及 MHC Ⅰ类和Ⅱ类的表达。此外，HPG 还磷酸化了 MAPKs 和 NF-κB 途径。在抑制剂实验中，ERK 抑制剂完全抑制了 HPG 对 IL-6 和 TNF-α产生的影响。ERK 抑制剂抑制了 HPG 诱导的 c-Jun 激活，而 JNK、p38 和 IκBα 抑制剂部分抑制了 c-Jun 激活。总的来说，这些结果表明，HPG 中含有的 Rg3、Rg5 和 Rk1 增加了 RAW264.7 细胞中由 ERK/c-Jun 途径调节的巨噬细胞激活。
