Effects of Panax notoginseng saponins on hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in cultured rabbit bone marrow stromal cells

Objective To investigate the effects of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) on hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced apoptosis in cultured rabbit bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs). Methods BMSCs from 3-month-old New Zealand rabbits were isolated and cultured by the density gradient centrifugation combined with adherent method. The cultured BMSCs were divided into three groups: normal control, H2O2 treatment (100μmol/L), and PNS pretreatment (0.1g/L). Intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels as the index of oxidative stress were measured by using 2'7'-dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate. Flow cytometry was used to observe the apoptosis of BMSCs by staining with annexinV-FITC/PI. The protein expression of Bax in BMSCs was analyzed by Western blotting. Activity of caspase-3 enzyme was measured by spectrofluorometry. Results Pretreatment with PNS significantly decreased intracellular ROS level induced by H2O2 (P<0.01). PNS markedly attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis rate from 38.68% to 19.24%(P<0.01). PNS reversed H2O2-induced augmentation of Bax expression. Furthermore, PNS markedly reduced the altered in activity of caspase-3 enzyme induced by H2O2(P<0.01). Conclusion PNS has a protective effect on hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in cultured rabbit BMSCs by scavenging ROS and decreasing Bax expression and caspase-3 activity.