• BMB Reports
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.301-305
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• 1995

Considering the stimulatory effects of ginsenosides from Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer on the release of nitric oxide from bovine aortic endothelial cells in vitro and vasodilatation of rabbit pulmonary artery in vivo, the present study is designed to investigate the mechanism of nitric oxide release by ginsenosides in calf pulmonary artery endothelial cells, Nitric oxide release was determined in endothelial cells treated with ginsenosides and compared with those of the receptor-dependent agonists, bradykinin and ADP and the receptor-independent calcium ionophore $A_{23187}$. The results showed that total saponin and ginsenoside $Rg_1$, not $Rb_1$, stimulated nitric oxide release measured as conversion to L-citrulline. The nitric oxide releasing properties of total saponin and ginsenoside $Rg_1$ were different; total saponin stimulated only conversion to L-citrulline, like $A_{23187}$, while ginsenoside $Rg_1$ stimulated both L-arginine transport and conversion to L-citrulline, as bradykinin or ADP did.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.60 no.6
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• pp.625-630
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• 2006

Background: Pulmonary hypertension in COPD patients is the result of a direct effect of tobacco smoke on the intrapulmonary vessels with the abnormal production of the mediators that control vasoconstriction, vasodilatation, and vascular cell proliferation, which ultimately lead to aberrant vascular remodeling and physiology. COPD patients are prone to the developmint of an acute and chronic thromboembolism with an elevation of the plasma procoagulant and fibrinolytic markers However, the roles of the coagulation and fibrinolysis system on the right ventricular dysfunction in COPD patients are not well defined. We examined the alteration of the coagulation and fibrinolysis system in COPD patients according to the right ventricular function measured using cardiac multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Methods: The right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) was measured using cardiac MDCT in 26 patients who were diagnosed with COPD according to the definition of the GOLD guideline. The plasma level of thrombin antithrombin (TAT) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 were measured using an enzyme linked immunoassay. Results: The plasma TAT was markedly elevated in COPD patients ($10.5{\pm}19.8{\mu}g/L$) compared with those of the control ($3.4{\pm}2.5{\mu}g/L$) (p<0.01). However, the plasma PAI-1 in COPD patients ($29.6{\pm}20.7ng/mL$) was similar to that in the controls. The plasma TAT showed a significant inverse relationship with the RVEF measured by the cardiac MDCT in COPD patients (r=-0.645, p<0.01). However, the plasma PAI-1 did not show a relationship with the RVEF (r=0.022, p=0.92). Conclusion: These results suggest that the coagulation system in COPD patients is markedly activated, and that the plasma level of TAT might be a marker of a right ventricular dysfunction in COPD patients.