Red ginseng extract A and B are the active components of Panax ginseng. Red ginseng is a classical traditional Chinese medicine. Among Chinese herbs, red ginseng has been considered as one of the tonics. Many studies indicated that red ginseng could enhance immune function of the human body. The effects of red ginseng extracts on transplantable tumors, proliferation of lymphocyte, two-stage model and rat liver lipid peroxidation were studied. In a two-stage model, red ginseng extracts had a significant cancer chemoprevention. At 50-400mg/kg, they could inhibit DMBA/Croton oil-induced skin papilloma in mice, decrease the incidence of papilloma, prolong the latent period of tumor occurrence and reduce tumor number per mouse in a dose-dependent manner. Red ginseng extract B could effectively inhibit the Fe 2+/cysteine-induced lipid peroxidation of rat liver microsome, suggesting that red ginseng extract B has a stronger antioxidative effect than that of extract A. The results indicated that red ginseng extracts (50: 400mg/kg) could significantly inhibit the growth of transplantable mouse sarcoma S180 and melanoma B16. Red ginseng extracts A (0.5mg/ml) and B (0.1 and 0.25mg/ml) might effectively promote the transformation of T lymphocyte, but there was no influence on lymphocyte proliferation stimulated by concanavalin A. This suggests that red ginseng extracts have potent tumor therapeutic activity and improve the cell immune system.

The present study investigates the induction of neurogenesis, reduction of apoptosis, and promotion of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) expression as possible mechanisms by which treatment of stroke with bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) improves neurological functional recovery. Additionally, for the first time, we treated cerebral ischemia in female rats with intraveneous administration of MSCs. Female rats were subjected to 2 hr of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo), followed by an injection of 3

Treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) with bone marrowstromal cells (MSCs) improves functional outcome in the rat. However, the specific mechanisms by which introduced MSCs provide benefit remain to be elucidated. Currently, the ability of therapeutically transplanted MSCs to replace injured parenchymal CNS tissue appears limited at best. Tissue replacement, however, is not the only possible compensatory avenue in cell transplantation therapy. Various growth factors have been shown to mediate the repair and replacement of damaged tissue, so trophic support provided by transplanted MSCs may play a role in the treatment of damaged tissue. We therefore investigated the temporal profile of various growth factors, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), within cultures of human MSCs (hMSCs) conditioned with cerebral tissue extract from TBI. hMSCs were cultured with TBI extracts of rat brain in vitro and quantitative sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed. TBI-conditioned hMSCs cultures demonstrated a time-dependent increase of BDNF, NGF, VEGF, and HGF, indicating a responsive production of these growth factors by the hMSCs. The ELISA data suggest that transplanted hMSCs may provide therapeutic benefit via a responsive secretion of an array of growth factors that can foster neuroprotection and angiogenesis.