Proteomic Analysis of the Anti-Cancer Effect of 20S-Ginsenoside Rg₃in Human Colon Cancer Cell Lines

Abstract

Ginseng is a well known herbal medicine in Asia, and ginsenoside Rg3 has anti-cancer and various pharmacological effects. In particular, 20S-ginsenoside Rg3 may increase the anti-proliferative effects of chemotherapy. The authors investigated the mechanism of the anti-proliferative effect of 20S-Rg3 at the protein level in HT29 colon cancer cells. MTT, caspase-3 assays, and flow cytometry analysis were performed to determine cytotoxicity and apoptosis, and proteomic analysis was performed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF/TOF MS, and a database was used to identify protein changes in 20S-Rg3 treated HT29 cells. The proteins identified included down-regulated Rho GDP dissociation inhibitor, up-regulated tropomyosin1, and annexin5 and glutathione s-transferase p1, which are apoptosis associated proteins. The anti-proliferative mechanism of 20S-Rg3 was found to be involved in mitotic inhibition, DNA replication, and repair and growth factor signaling. The findings of this study suggest that the cytotoxicity of 20S-Rg3 in colon cancer is dependent on several mechanisms, including apoptosis.

Antitumor effects of ginsenoside Rg3 on human hepatocellular carcinoma cells

“…We speculate that Rg3 may have antitumor effects in human hepatocellular carcinoma by inhibiting cancer cell growth. This result is consistent with previous studies on the anticarcinogenic effects Rg3 in other malignant tumors (7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16).…”

20(S)-Ginsenoside Rg3-induced apoptosis in HT-29 colon cancer cells is associated with AMPK signaling pathway

“…20(S)-ginsenoside Rg3 (Fig. 1), one of the main constituents found in red ginseng, has been shown to exert inhibitory effects on various cancers through inductive effects on several signaling pathways (13)(14)(15). However, it remains to be determined whether apoptotic cell death is associated with the aMP-activated protein kinase (aMPK) signaling pathway in HT-29 colon cancer cells treated with 20(S)-rg3.…”

Proteomics in Food Science

“…Thus, physiologically active food components, either as functional food or nutraceuticals, are tested by treating cells in vitro with defined compounds and measuring defined cellular reactions to accelerate the search for highly relevant bioactive food ingredients. For instance, HT29 human colon cancer cells were treated with or without 20-S-ginsenoside Rg3, a ginseng metabolite that inhibits the proliferation of tumor cells in vitro and may increase the antiproliferative effects of chemotherapy (Lee et al, 2009). Cellular proteomes were compared by 2-DE, and all regulated spots were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS.…”