Ginseng (the root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, Araliaceae) has been used as a crude drug taken orally for preventive and therapeutic purposes in Asian countries as a traditional medicine. In the current study, we have investigated the antitumor effect of a novel ginseng protopanaxadiol saponin bacterial metabolic derivative, 20-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S)-protopanaxadiol (IH-901), in eight human myeloma cell lines. IH-901 inhibited the proliferation of all myeloma cell lines examined. Despite the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) overexpression due to a chromosomal translocation t(4;14)(q16.3;q32.3) in KMS-11 myeloma cells, IH-901 induced apoptosis in a dose- and time-dependent way in this cell line. Treatment of KMS-11 with IH-901 resulted in the formation of internucleosomal DNA fragments, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage, and the activation of caspase-3. IH-901 also caused the down-regulation of FGFR3 mRNA and protein expression and inhibited ERK activity in KMS-11 cells. Our results demonstrate that IH-901 induces apoptosis and inhibits FGFR3 expression and signaling in KMS-11 cells, suggesting candidacy for the chemoprevention and the treatment of myeloma.

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