Objective To investigate the effect of saponins of Panax Ginseng on expression of
hematopoietic growth factors in
macrophage
and explore the biological mechanism for hematopoiesis regulated by Panax Ginseng. Methods By using the
hematopoietic progenitor culture in vitro, biological activity assay of hematopoietic growth factor(HGF), immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization, the HGF-inducing effects of rat bone marrow macrophage(rBMM)and human monocyte line(THP-1) treated with total saponins of Panax Ginseng(TSPG) were studied. Results The results indicated that the conditioned media of rat bone marrow macrophage (rBMM-CM) and human monocyte line(THP-1-CM) prepared with TSPG(10-50mg/L) can increase significantly the formation of CFU-Mix CFU-GM, and CFU-E in mice and human; the
expression of Epo, GM-CSF, IL-3 and IL-6 protein in rBMM and THP-1 treated with TSPG(50mg/L) is stronger than that of control group; the expression of EpomRNA, GM-CSF mRNA and IL-3 mRNA in rBMM and THP-1 induced by TSPG(50mg/L) is intensified.Conclusion We speculate that TSPG can induce the macrophage in hematopoietic inductive microevironment to synthesize and secrete HGF, such as Epo, GM-CSF, IL-3 and IL-6 through direct and/or indirect pathway, which can promote the hematopoiesis. This may be one of the cellular and molecular mechanisms of Panax Ginseng regulating hematopoiesis.