Ginsenoside CK induces apoptosis of human liver cancer SMMC-7721 cells through inhibition of TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway / 药学学报

This study aimed to investigate apoptosis induction of ginsenoside compound K (ginsenoside CK) in human liver cancer SMMC-7721 cells and the involvement of TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway. MTT assay was used to detect cell viability following ginsenoside CK treatment in SMMC-7721 cells. Annexin V-FITC/PI assay was used to detect apoptosis. After ginsenoside CK, or TGF-β1/Smads pathway activator TGFβ1 and inhibitor LY2109761 treatment, the TGF-β1/Smads pathway proteins and apoptosis proteins were detected by Western blot. The results showed that ginsenoside CK inhibited the proliferation of SMMC-7721 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Annexin V-FITC/PI showed that ginsenoside CK induced apoptosis in SMMC-7721 cells. Meanwhile, ginsenoside CK inhibited the expression of Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3, Smad4, but promoted Smad7 expression, cleavage of caspase-3 and down-regulated Bcl-2/Bax. Compared with TGFβ1 treatment alone, levels of Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3, Smad4 and the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax were down-regulated, whereas Smad7 or cleaved caspase-3 was up-regulated in the ginsenoside CK+TGF-β1 group. In addition, Smad2/3, p-Smad2/3 and Smad4 expression were decreased in LY2109761 group. Compared with LY2109761 group, cleaved caspase-3 expression and Bcl-2/Bax have no significant change in ginsenoside CK+LY2109761 group. Taken together, our results showed that ginsenoside CK induced apoptosis in SMMC-7721 cells, and such induction is related to inhibiting TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway.

Effect of ginsenoside metabolite compound K on migration and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma line HepG2 / 中国药理学通报

Aim To investigate the effect of ginsen-oside metabolite compound K ( CK) on migration and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma line HepG2, and the possible signaling pathway underlying these processes .Methods HepG2 cells were exposed to ginsenoside CK (0, 10, 20, 40, 80 μmol· L-1 ) for 24 h.The cell viability was examined by MTT as-say, and the ability of migration and invasion was ob-served with the wound healing and transwell assay .The expression of E-cadherin , N-cadherin and other related signal molecules such as p-ERK, ERK, p-Akt, Akt were detected by Western blot .Results The cell via-bility was significantly reduced by ginsenoside CK (20, 40, 80 μmol· L-1) (P<0.01).The ability of cell migration and invasion was significantly inhibited after exposure to ginsenoside CK .After treatment with ginsenoside CK (20, 40, 80 μmol · L-1 ) in HepG2 cells, the expression of E-cadherin markedly in-creased, while N-cadherin expression significantly de-creased.Meanwhile, the expression of p-ERK and p-Akt decreased after treated with ginsenoside CK .Con-clusion Ginsenoside CK inhibits the migration and invasion of human hepatocellular carcinoma line HepG2, which may be through suppression of ERK and Akt signaling .

Microbial transformation of ginsenosides extracted from Panax ginseng adventitious roots in an airlift bioreactor

Background: Ginsenoside is the most important secondary metabolite in ginseng. Natural sources of wild ginseng have been overexploited. Although root culture can reduce the length of the growth cycle of ginseng, the number of species of ginsenosides is reduced and their contents are lower in the adventitious roots of ginseng than in the roots of ginseng cultivated in the field. Results: In this study, 147 strains of ß-glucosidase-producing microorganisms were isolated from soil. Of these, strain K35 showed excellent activity for converting major ginsenosides into rare ginsenosides, and a NCBI BLAST of its 16S rDNA gene sequence showed that it was most closely related to Penicillium sp. (HQ608083.1). Strain K35 was used to ferment the adventitious root extract, and the fermentation products were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The results showed that the content of the rare ginsenoside CK was 0.253 mg mL-1 under the optimal converting conditions of 9 d of fermentation at pH 7.0 in LL medium, which was significantly higher than that in the adventitious roots of ginseng. Conclusion: These findings may not only solve the problem of low productivity of metabolite in ginseng root culture but may also result in the development of a new valuable method of manufacturing ginsenoside CK.

Effects of Ginsenoside CK Combined with 5-Fluorouracil on the Proliferation,Apoptosis and Epithelial Mesenchymal Transition of Human Pancreatic Cancer PANC-1 Cells / 中国药房

OBJECTIVE:To study the effects of ginsenoside CK combined with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) on the proliferation, apoptosis and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of human pancreatic cancer PANC-1 cells. METHODS:PANC-1 cells of logarithmic growth phase were randomly divided into blank control group,ginsenoside CK group (30 mg/L),5-FU group (25 mg/L)and combination group(ginsenoside CK 30 mg/L+5-FU 25 mg/L). MTT method was used to detect the cell proliferation in-hibition rate in each group after 24,48,72 h;flow cytometry was used to detect the cell apoptosis rate after 48 h;enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the fibronectin expression in cells after 24,48,72,96 h;and Western blot was used to detect the expressions of vimentin,N-cadherin,E-cadherin,protein kinase(Akt)and phosphorylated Akt(p-Akt)protein in cells after 48 h. RESULTS:Compared with blank control group,the cell proliferation inhibition rate,early and late apoptotic rates,pro-tein expression level of E-cadherin in ginsenoside CK group,5-FU group and combination group were obviously increased (P<0.05),while the protein expression levels of fibronectin,vimentin,N-cadherin,and p-Akt/Akt levels were obviously decreased (P<0.05);the effects of above-mentioned indexes in combination group were superior to ginsenoside CK group and 5-FU group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Both ginsenoside CK and 5-FU can inhibit the proliferation of PANC-1 cells,induce their apoptosis and inhibit EMT,which may be associated with inhibiting phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/Akt pathway. In addition,the combination of ginsenoside CK and 5-FU can produce a better effect.

Influence of TPGS 1000 and Soluplus on membrane transport of ginsenoside CK in Caco-2 cell monolayer model / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of TPGS 1000 and Soluplus on the transport of ginsenoside CK in Caco-2 cell model. METHODS: The effects of TPGS 1000 and Soluplus at different concentrations on ginsenoside CK were evaluated by using Caco-2 cell model. The concentration of ginsenoside CK in cell was examined by ultra high pressure liquid chromatography (UPLC) method. The apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) and the efflux ratio were calculated. RESULTS: When the proportion of ginsenoside CK to TPGS 1000 or Soluplus was 1:1, 1:3, and 1:9, the absorption of ginsenoside CK significantly increased. The efflux and efflux ratio both decreased significantly (P<0.05). TPGS 1000 had more significant promotion effect on the transport of ginsenoside CK than the same dose of soluplus at the same ratio (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In Caco-2 cell model, both TPGS 1000 and Soluplus can significantly promote the absorption of ginsenoside CK.