人参皂甙Rg1对老年大鼠免疫功能的调节作用

已知老年机体免疫功能的降低与淋巴细胞增殖能力的减弱和白细胞介素-2(IL-2)产生减少有密切关系。以老年大鼠免疫功能为主要研究对象,首次发现人参皂甙Rg1无论体内给药还是体外实验均能选择性增强老年大鼠脾淋巴细胞增殖能力和IL-2的产生与释放,采用Northern和Western印迹分析法证明,Rg₁可明显促进IL-2基因和蛋白的表达,表现在IL-2mRNA和IL-2蛋白含量的显著增加。值得注意的是,在同样的条件下,Rg₁对青年大鼠免疫功能的影响并不显著,由此可以认为Rg1一种“免疫调节剂”,而并非单纯的“免疫增强剂”。

IMMUNOREGULATORY EFFECTS OF GINSENOSIDE Rg1 IN AGED RATS

It has been well documented that the immune function declines with age in the human and animals. The possible causes for the decline are the inability of lymphocytes to proliferate in response to mitogenic stimulation and the decrease of IL-2 production.In the present studies,Rg1 was shown to selectively enhance the proliferation of lymphocytes and the production of IL-2 in aged rats.Using Northern blot and Western blot analyses, Rg1 was found to promote IL-2 gene expression which showed increase of IL-2mRNA and IL-2 protein contents,Interestingly, under the same conditions, studies were carried out on the effect of Rg₁ on the immune function of young adult rats,but no marked influence was observed.According to these results, it is reasonable to consider Rg1 an immunoregulator rather than a purely “immunopotentiating agent”.