Ginsenoside Rg1 as an Effective Regulator of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Abstract

Recently, breakthroughs have been made in the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat various diseases. Several stem cell types have been authorized as drugs by the European Medicines Agency and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Chinese official document "Notification of the management of stem cell clinical research (trial)" was also published in August 2015. Currently, China has approved 106 official stem cell clinical research filing agencies and 62 clinical research projects, which are mostly focused on MSC therapy. Hence, the optimization and development of stem cell drugs is imperative. During this process, maximizing MSC expansion, minimizing cell loss during MSC transplantation, improving the homing rate, precisely regulating the differentiation of MSCs, and reducing MSC senescence and apoptosis are major issues in MSC preclinical research. Similar to artemisinin extracted from the stems and leaves of Artemisia annua, ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) is purified from the root or stem of ginseng. In the human body, Rg1 regulates organ function, which is inseparable from its regulation of adult stem cells. Rg1 treatment may effectively regulate the proliferation, differentiation, senescence, and apoptosis of MSCs in different microenvironments in vitro or in vivo. In this review, we discuss recent advances in understanding the effect of Rg1 on MSCs and describe the issues that must be addressed and prospects regarding Rg1 regulation of MSCs in preclinical or clinical studies.

Ginsenoside Rg1 Drives Stimulations of Timosaponin AIII‐Induced Anticancer Effects in Human Osteosarcoma Cells

“…Among the various ginsenosides, Rg1 is a tetracyclic triterpenoid monomer. Rg1 has been known to affect various human organ systems including the immune, cardiovascular, and nervous systems with its pharmacological effects [ 7 ]. Notably, Rg1 reduces apoptosis of nerve cells and exerts protective effects on neurons [ 6 ].…”

“…Rg1 shows pharmacological effects in various organ systems such as the nervous and immune systems [4,5]. It is particularly known to reduce apoptosis of nerve cells and mesenchymal stem cells [6,7].…”

The Potential Properties of Natural Compounds in Cardiac Stem Cell Activation: Their Role in Myocardial Regeneration

“…Other in vivo experiments also reported that Rg1 stimulates the myocardial tissue secretion of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), able to promotes BMSC homing to myocardial tissue and differentiation into vascular endothelial cells. Interestingly, a reduction in the size of the myocardial infarction and an improvement in cardiac function were observed in this condition [ 242 ]. In a rat model of acute MI it was also observed how the continuous application of Rg1 enhances the number of peripheral blood CD34 + stem cells and stimulates the homing of stem cells to the infarcted area, leading to ventricular remodeling with reduction of infarct size and significant myocardial regeneration [ 243 ].…”

Ginsenoside Rg1 Induces Apoptotic Cell Death in Triple‐Negative Breast Cancer Cell Lines and Prevents Carcinogen‐Induced Breast Tumorigenesis in Sprague Dawley Rats

“…Phytochemicals possess the ability to induce apoptosis through the generation of ROS in breast cancer cells [ 11 ]. Ginsenoside Rg1 is the primary active component of Panax ginseng which has been endowed with several pharmacological properties [ 12 ]. Ginsenoside Rg1 is derived from a hydride of a dammarane and is a monomer of a tetracyclic triterpenoid derivative [ 13 ].…”