IMR Press / JIN / Volume 20 / Issue 4 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2004084
Open Access Original Research
Ginsenoside Rb1 attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced neural damage in the brain of mice via regulating the dysfunction of microglia and astrocytes
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1 School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, 100029 Beijing, China
2 McWhorter, School of Pharmacy, College of Health Sciences, Samford University, Birmingham, AL 35229, USA
*Correspondence: tangmk@bucm.edu.cn (Minke Tang)
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2021, 20(4), 813–823; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2004084
Submitted: 3 June 2021 | Revised: 16 July 2021 | Accepted: 23 July 2021 | Published: 30 December 2021
Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Abstract

The purpose of our research was to evaluate whether ginsenoside Rb1 has neuroprotective effects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced brain injury. ICR mice were intraperitoneally (i.p.) injected with 20 or 40 mg/kg Rb1 or saline for 7 consecutive days. On the 7th day, 30 minutes after Rb1 or saline administration, a single dose of LPS (LPS group, Rb1+LPS group) or saline (control group) was injected i.p. into the mice. Results demonstrated that Rb1 treatment could significantly improve the behavior performance of LPS mice in both the open field test and the beam walking test. Rb1 can also markedly attenuate the neuronal lesion in both hippocampus and somatosensory cortex in the brain of LPS mice. In addition, Rb1 treatment also significantly inhibits the LPS-induced neuroinflammation in the brain, indicated by reduced reactive microglia and decreased IL-1β production. Both immunostaining and western blot results suggest that Rb1 can further enhance the LPS-induced GLT-1 expression and alleviate LPS-induced GS reduction in the brain. Our findings show that Rb1 has a protective effect on LPS-induced neuronal damage in the CA1 of the hippocampus and in the somatosensory area of the cerebral cortex in mice, which is likely to be the basis for its improvement of locomotor and motor coordination. Rb1 regulating the function of astrocytes and microglia through GLT-1 and GS in astrocytes may be involved in its neuroprotective effects.

Keywords
Ginsenoside Rb1
LPS-induced mice
Locomotive activity
Microglia
Astrocyte
Glutamate transporter-1
Glutamine synthetase enzyme
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