title: Stereospecificity of ginsenoside Rg3 in the promotion of cellular immunity in hepatoma H22-bearing mice.
abstract: Previous investigations have demonstrated that ginsenoside Rg3 (Rg3) has many actions including antitumor, antioxidative, and immunomodulatory effects. However, Rg3 exists as 2 stereoisomeric pairs, 20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 [20(S)-Rg3] and 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg3 [20(R)-Rg3], which have disparate pharmacological actions because of their different chemical structures. In this study, the 2 epimers were compared for their effects on the growth of hepatocellular carcinoma H22 transplanted tumors and the immune function of H22-bearing mice. In vivo efficacy study showed that the growth of H22 transplanted tumors was significantly inhibited when treated with 20(S)-Rg3 and 20(R)-Rg3 (P < 0.05), and the inhibition rate of tumor growth was 23.6% and 40.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the cellular immunity of H22-bearing mice was remarkably enhanced after Rg3 treatment (P < 0.05), which may be due to stimulation of ConA-induced lymphocyte proliferation and augmentation of Th1-type cytokines interleukin-2 and interferon-γ levels in mice. Interestingly, the effects of 20(R)-Rg3 were significantly greater than those of the S-form (P < 0.05). Taken together, these results indicate that Rg3 inhibits H22 tumor growth in vivo at least partly by improving the host's cellular immunity in a stereospecific manner, and 20(R)-Rg3 is more potent for treating cancers or other immune-mediated diseases clinically.
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Inst. of Biomedical Sciences, Jianghan Univ, Wuhan 430056, China.
authors.forename: Rihui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Ru
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Baomiao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Chaoying
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000188:drug therapy*; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D051379:Mice; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D036145:Ginsenosides; C097367:ginsenoside Rg3
keywords: cellular immunity; cytokine; ginsenoside Rg3; hepatocellular carcinoma; stereospecificity