Korean Red Ginseng Suppresses the Expression of Oxidative Stress Response and NLRP3 Inflammasome Genes in Aged C57BL/6 Mouse Ovaries

Figures

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  Figure 1. The nutritional composition and ginsenoside content of the Korean red ginseng saponin fraction. (A) Scheme for the preparation of the KRGSF. (B) The nutrient composition of Korean red ginseng saponin fraction (KRGSF). (C) The ginsenoside content of the KRGSF.

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  Figure 2. Gene expression in ovaries from 6-month-old and 12-month-old C57BL/6 mice: (A) hierarchical clustering and heat map analysis. A heat map of significantly differentially expressed (>1.5-fold) genes is shown. Red dots represent higher expression and green dots represent lower expression at 12 months of age. Volcano plot (B) and scatter plots (C,D) of the microarray analysis data.

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  Figure 3. Gene expression in the ovaries of KRGSF-treated and untreated 12-month-old C57BL/6 mice: (A) hierarchical clustering and heat map analysis. A heat map of significantly differentially expressed (1.5-fold) genes is shown. Red dots represent higher expression and green dots represent lower expression at 12 months of age. Volcano plot (B) and scatter plots (C,D) of the microarray analysis data.

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  Figure 4. Molecular functional classification of the differentially expressed genes’ gene ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis was performed using the Clue Go plugin for Cytoscape software. (A) The GO molecular functions of the differentially expressed genes in ovaries from 12-month-old and 6-month-old untreated mice. (B) The GO molecular functions of the differentially expressed genes in ovaries from 12-month-old KRGSF-treated and untreated mice. GO terms shown in red were affected by both aging and KRGSF treatment. (C) Comparison of the age-related and KRGSF-related differential gene expression. (D) The GO term GO:0016616 was affected by both aging and KRGSF. Genes shown in red were affected by both. (E) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of ovarian Idh1 expression. 18S was used as a reference gene. Mean ± SEM, n = 4, *** p < 0.005 compared with the 6-month-old untreated group. n.d. (no difference).

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  Figure 5. KRGSF inhibits the age-related increase in expression of intracellular oxidative stress response genes. RNA was isolated from ovaries and quantitative RT-PCR analysis was performed. (A) The relative mRNA expression of Nqo1, Gclm, Nrf2, and Nox2 (mean ± SEM; n = 4). (B) The relative mRNA expression of Sod2, Catalase, Gpx1, and Gr (mean ± SEM; n = 4). 18S was used as a reference gene. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.005 vs. the 6-month-old untreated group. n.d. (no difference).

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  Figure 6. KRGSF ameliorates the aging-related increase in expression of genes encoding NLRP3 inflammasome components. RNA was isolated from ovaries and quantitative RT-PCR analysis was performed. (A) The relative mRNA expression of Nlrp3, Asc, pro-IL-1β, IL-1β, pro-caspase-1, and caspase-1 (mean ± SEM; n = 4). (B) The relative mRNA expression of Cox2 and iNOS2 (mean ± SEM; n = 4). 18S was used as a reference gene. * p < 0.05 and *** p < 0.005 vs. the 6-month-old untreated group. n.d. (no difference).