title: Ginsenoside Rg3 Improves Recovery from Spinal Cord Injury in Rats via Suppression of Neuronal Apoptosis, Pro-Inflammatory Mediators, and Microglial Activation.
abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most devastating medical conditions; however, currently, there are no effective pharmacological interventions for SCI. Ginsenoside Rg3 (GRg3) is one of the protopanaxadiols that show anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and neuroprotective effects. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effect of GRg3 following SCI in rats. SCI was induced using a static compression model at vertebral thoracic level 10 for 5 min. GRg3 was administrated orally at a dose of 10 or 30 mg/kg/day for 14 days after the SCI. GRg3 (30 mg/kg) treatment markedly improved behavioral motor functions, restored lesion size, preserved motor neurons in the spinal tissue, reduced Bax expression and number of TUNEL-positive cells, and suppressed mRNA expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6. GRg3 also attenuated the over-production of cyclooxygenase-2 and inducible nitric oxide synthase after SCI. Moreover, GRg3 markedly suppressed microglial activation in the spinal tissue. In conclusion, GRg3 treatment led to a remarkable recovery of motor function and a reduction in spinal tissue damage by suppressing neuronal apoptosis and inflammatory responses after SCI. These results suggest that GRg3 may be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of SCI.
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. omdkdk@empal.com.
authors.forename: Dong-Kyu
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. kgj1031@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Ki-Jung
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Kweon
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. bixas@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Pyungsoo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. noonkkot@hanmail.net.
authors.forename: Hee-Jung
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. kokoajam@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Sung-Soo
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. sohnnw@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Nak-Won
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Sohn
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. jethrot@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Sungho
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maeng
authors.affiliation: Department of East-West Medical Science, Graduate School of East-West Medical Science, Kyung Hee University, Yongin 17404, Korea. shinarago@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jung-Won
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Shin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000737:chemistry; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D036145:Ginsenosides / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D017628:Microglia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012502:Sapogenins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000737:chemistry; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D036145:Ginsenosides; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D012502:Sapogenins; C097367:ginsenoside Rg3; C081552:protopanaxatriol
keywords: apoptosis; ginsenoside Rg3; microglial activation; motor function; pro-inflammatory cytokines; spinal cord injury