title: [Potentiated effects of total saponins of Panax Ginseng on inhibition of leukemic cells by cytotoxic drugs].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the potentiated effects of total saponins of Panax Ginseng (TSPG) on inhibition of leukemic progenitor cells by cytotoxic drugs in acute myelocytic leukemia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using bone marrow culture of colony forming unite-acute myeloid leukemia (CFU-AML) method, the sensitivity of leukemic cells obtained from 18 patients to homoharringtonin (HHr), cytarabine (Ara), adriamycin (Adr) and etoposide (VP-16) were detected separately.
  
  
  RESULTS
  TSPG alone (20 micrograms/ml) could stimulate proliferation of CFU-AML obviously, and increase the colony numbers by 37.98% over the non-TSPG control (P < 0.01). In the presence of TSPG, the inhibition rates of CFU-AML of HHr, Ara, Adr and VP-16 were 51.2%-62.0% respectively, which were significantly higher than 30.4%-47.4% of non-TSPG control (all P < 0.01). In the combination of TSPG with cytotoxic drugs, the leukemic progenitor cells became more sensitive to cytotoxic drugs, CFU-AML colony numbers at 1.84-2.23 fold as more as those of non-TSPG control were inhibited by HHr, Ara, Adr and VP-16. Sensitivity test of 17 among 72 drugs reversed from resistant (suppression rate less than 30%) to sensitive (suppression rate more than 30%) by TSPG.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TSPG could drive non-cycling leukemic progenitors to enter cell cycle, and thereby enhance their susceptibility to cytotoxic drugs.
authors.affiliation: Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou (310006).
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000494:pharmacology; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D004357:Drug Synergism; D005260:Female; D036145:Ginsenosides; D006248:Harringtonines / Q000494:pharmacology; D000077863:Homoharringtonine; D006801:Humans; D007948:Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute / Q000473:pathology*; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000473:pathology*; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D005894:Panax; D012503:Saponins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D036145:Ginsenosides; D006248:Harringtonines; D012503:Saponins; D000077863:Homoharringtonine