The inhibitory effects of 20(R)-ginsenoside Rg3 on the proliferation, angiogenesis, and collagen synthesis of hypertrophic scar derived fibroblasts in vitro

OBJECTIVE(S): Therapeutic effect of many selectable methods applied in clinical practice for treating hypertrophic scar (HS) is not still so satisfactory. Meanwhile, a few medicines may lead to several undesirable complications. The traditional Chinese medicine, Rg3, has been reported for multiple antitumor effects previously. We have conducted series of animal experiments and confirmed the inhibitory effect of Rg3 in HS before. The aim of this study was to further verify the conclusions of previous studies and reveal the specific functional mechanisms of Rg3. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The HS specimens were obtained from the patients aged from 15 to 36 years without systemic diseases and the primary cultured cells were isolated from the scar tissue and expanded in vitro. In every experiment, hypertrophic scar fibroblasts (HSFs) were divided into three groups and respectively cultured in medium with or without different Rg3 concentrations (50, 100 μg/ml). Cell viability assay, flow cytometry analysis (FCM), quantitative PCR, cell migration assay, immunofluorescence staining, western blot and ELISA were employed. RESULTS: The outcomes demonstrated that Rg3 could suppress cell proliferation, vascularization and extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition of HSFs in vitro by TGF-β/SMAD and Erk signaling pathways. Significant statistical differences were between control group and Rg3-treated groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study provides sufficient in vitro evidences for Rg3 as a promising drug in the treatment of human HS.