title: Acidic polysaccharide of Panax ginseng regulates the mitochondria/caspase-dependent apoptotic pathway in radiation-induced damage to the jejunum in mice.
abstract: Owing to its susceptibility to radiation, the small intestine of mice is valuable for studying radioprotective effects. When exposed to radiation, intestinal crypt cells immediately go through apoptosis, which impairs swift differentiation necessary for the regeneration of intestinal villi. Our previous studies have elucidated that acidic polysaccharide of Panax ginseng (APG) protects the mouse small intestine from radiation-induced damage by lengthening villi with proliferation and repopulation of crypt cells. In the present study, we identified the molecular mechanism involved. C57BL/6 mice were irradiated with gamma-rays with or without APG and the expression levels of apoptosis-related molecules in the jejunum were investigated using immunohistochemistry. APG pretreatment strongly decreased the radiation-induced apoptosis in the jejunum. It increased the expression levels of anti-apoptotic proteins (Bcl-2 and Bcl-XS/L) and dramatically reduced the expression levels of pro-apoptotic proteins (p53, BAX, cytochrome c and caspase-3). Therefore, APG attenuated the apoptosis through the intrinsic pathway, which is controlled by p53 and Bcl-2 family members. Results presented in this study suggest that APG protects the mouse small intestine from irradiation-induced apoptosis through inhibition of the p53-dependent pathway and the mitochondria/caspase pathway. Thus, APG may be a potential agent for preventing radiation induced injuries in intestinal cells during radio-therapy such as in cancer treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: So Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Bing
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Min Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Comparative Animal Medicine, Division of Animal Life Science, Institute of Agriculture, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo 183-8509, Japan.
authors.forename: Ginnae
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jaehak
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Im
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Dae Seung
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Danbee
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ha
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Jinhee
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea.
authors.forename: Areum
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Nuclear Science and Technology, Jeju National University, Ara-dong 1, Jeju 690-756, South Korea. Electronic address: yhjee@jejunu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Youngheun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D053148:Caspase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D007583:Jejunum / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D005894:Panax / Q000737:chemistry; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011134:Polysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011833:Radiation Injuries, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D011836:Radiation Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011134:Polysaccharides; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; C505409:Casp3 protein, mouse; D053148:Caspase 3
keywords: Acidic polysaccharide of Panax ginseng; Apoptosis; Crypt cell; Ginsan; Ionizing radiation; Mice; Small intestine