Abstract
Aim:
We carried out this study to investigate the effect of ginsenoside Rg1 on the extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen activated protein kinase (ERK/MAPK) pathway for understanding its effect on synaptic platicity.
Methods:
Western blotting and immunostaining were used to examine the phosphorylation of ERK1/2, CaMKIIα and cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) in PC12 cells and synaptosomes. The confocal microscopy and fluorescent indicator Fluo-3 was applied to observe the intracellular calcium ion flux.
Results:
The phosphorylation of ERK1/2 in PC12 cells and synaptosomes incubated with Rg1 was increased and reached maximum at 4 min. Rg1 also promoted the transient enhancement of upstream calcium ion and activated CaMKIIα, which reached maximum at 2 min. CREB, the downstream protein, was phosphorylated within 8 min in PC12 cells after being incubated with Rg1. Moreover, KN93 partially inhibited the activation of ERK1/2, and PD98059 also partially blocked the phosphorylation of CREB.
Conclusions:
Rg1 activated ERK/MAPK pathway by CaMKIIα, and the activation of CREB was not only dependent on ERK induced by Rg1, which may provide an explanation for the effect of Rg1 on long-term potentiation.
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Project supported by Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education (No 20070023075).
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Hu, Jf., Xue, W., Ning, N. et al. Ginsenoside Rg1 activated CaMKIIα mediated extracellular signal-regulated kinase/mitogen activated protein kinase signaling pathway. Acta Pharmacol Sin 29, 1119–1126 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7254.2008.00867.x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1745-7254.2008.00867.x
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