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Ginsenoside Rp1 from Panax ginseng Exhibits Anti-cancer Activity by Down-regulation of the IGF-1R/Akt Pathway in Breast Cancer Cells

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Abstract

Cancer prevention is effective and reduces health care costs because cancer is often a preventable disease that can be affected by lifestyle factors. Therefore, researchers are interested in discovering natural compounds that have anticancer activities, such as delaying the development of cancer and preventing its progression. One such natural agent is ginseng (Panax ginseng), which is traditionally used in some parts of the world as a popular remedy for various diseases including cancer. We hypothesized that the ginsenoside Rp1, a component of ginseng, reduces cancer cell proliferation through inhibition of the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R)/Akt pathway. We first tested the efficacy of Rp1 against human breast cancer cell lines. Treatment with Rp1 inhibited breast cancer cell proliferation and inhibited both anchorage-dependent and -independent breast cancer cell colony formation. In addition, treatment with 20 μM Rp1 induced cycle arrest and apoptosis-mediated cell growth suppression. Our findings further indicated that Rp1 decreased the stability of the IGF-1R protein in breast cancer cells. Therefore, we suggest that Rp1 has potential as an anticancer drug and that IGF-1R is an important target for treatment and prevention of breast cancer.

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Abbreviations

DMEM:

Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium

FBS:

fetal bovine serum

Hsp90:

heat shock protein 90

IGF:

insulin-like growth factor

IGF-1R:

IGF-1 receptor

IL:

interleukin

MMP:

matrix metalloproteinase

MTT:

3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide

NF:

nuclear factor

PCR:

polymerase chain reaction

PI3K:

phosphoinositide 3-kinase

RT:

reverse transcriptase

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by research grants (Grants NCC 0810420) to SH Oh from the National Cancer Center in Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Cancer Biology, National Cancer Center, Ilsan-ro 323, Ilsandong-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, 410-769, Republic of Korea

    Ju-Hee Kang, Ki-Hoon Song & Seung Hyun Oh

  2. Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Chung-Ang University, 72-1, Nae-ri, Daeduck-myun, Ansung, Gyeonggi-do, 456-756, Republic of Korea

    Ju-Hee Kang & Changsun Choi

  3. Seoul National University, College of Medicine, Seoul, 110-799, Republic of Korea

    Jong-Kyu Woo

  4. Ambo Institute, 467-17 Dogok-dong, Gangnam-ku, Seoul, 135-535, Republic of Korea

    Myung Hwan Park

  5. College of Veterinary Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-201, Republic of Korea

    Man Hee Rhee

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  1. Ju-Hee Kang
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  2. Ki-Hoon Song
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  7. Seung Hyun Oh
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Correspondence to Seung Hyun Oh.

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Kang, JH., Song, KH., Woo, JK. et al. Ginsenoside Rp1 from Panax ginseng Exhibits Anti-cancer Activity by Down-regulation of the IGF-1R/Akt Pathway in Breast Cancer Cells. Plant Foods Hum Nutr 66, 298–305 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11130-011-0242-4

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