Ginsenoside Rg1 protects against neuronal degeneration induced by chronic dexamethasone treatment by inhibiting NLRP-1 inflammasomes in mice

Zhang,Yaodong; Hu,Wen; Zhang,Biqiong; Yin,Yanyan; Zhang,Junyan; Huang,Dake; Huang,Rongrong; Li,Weiping; Li,Weizu

doi:10.3892/ijmm.2017.3092

Ginsenoside Rg1 protects against neuronal degeneration induced by chronic dexamethasone treatment by inhibiting NLRP-1 inflammasomes in mice

Authors:
- Yaodong Zhang
- Wen Hu
- Biqiong Zhang
- Yanyan Yin
- Junyan Zhang
- Dake Huang
- Rongrong Huang
- Weiping Li
- Weizu Li
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Affiliations: Department of Pharmacology, Key Laboratory of Anti‑Inflammatory and Immunopharmacology, Ministry of Education, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China, Synthetic Laboratory of Basic Medicine College, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230032, P.R. China, Department of Pharmacology, Anhui Xinhua University, Hefei, Anhui 230088, P.R. China
Published online on: August 9, 2017 https://doi.org/10.3892/ijmm.2017.3092
Pages: 1134-1142
Copyright: © Zhang et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License.

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Abstract

Glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to alter neuronal plasticity, impair learning and memory and play important roles in the generation and progression of Alzheimer's disease. There are no effective drug options for preventing neuronal injury induced by chronic GC exposure. Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) is a steroidal saponin found in ginseng. The present study investigated the neuroprotective effect of Rg1 on neuroinflammation damage induced by chronic dexamethasone (5 mg/kg for 28 days) exposure in male mice. Our results showed that Rg1 (2 and 4 mg/kg) treatment increased spontaneous motor activity and exploratory behavior in an open field test, and increased the number of entries into the new object zone in a novel object recognition test. Moreover, Rg1 (2 and 4 mg/kg) treatment significantly alleviated neuronal degeneration and increased MAP2 expression in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Additionally, inhibition of NLRP‑1 inflammasomes was also involved in the mechanisms underlying the effect of Rg1 on GC‑induced neuronal injury. We found that Rg1 (2 and 4 mg/kg) treatment increased the expression of glucocorticosteroid receptor and decreased the expression of NLRP‑1, ASC, caspase‑1, caspase‑5, IL‑1β and IL‑18 in the hippocampus in male mice. The present study indicates that Rg1 may have protective effects on neuroinflammation and neuronal injury induced by chronic GC exposure.

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