Ginsenoside Rh2 attenuates microglial activation against toxoplasmic encephalitis via TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Background: Ginsenoside Rh2 (GRh2) is a characterized component in red ginseng widely used in Korea and China. GRh2 exhibits a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anticancer properties. However, its effects on () infection have not been clarified yet.

Methods: The effect of GRh2 against was assessed under and experiments. The BV2 cells were infected with tachyzoites of RH strain, and the effects of GRh2 were evaluated by MTT assay, morphological observations, immunofluorescence staining, a trypan blue exclusion assay, reverse transcription PCR, and Western blot analyses. The experiment was conducted with BALB/c mice inoculated with lethal amounts of tachyzoites with or without GRh2 treatment.

Results And Conclusion: The GRh2 treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation of under and studies. Furthermore, GRh2 blocked the activation of microglia and specifically decreased the release of inflammatory mediators in response to infection through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway. In mice, GRh2 conferred modest protection from a lethal dose of After the treatment, the proliferation of tachyzoites in the peritoneal cavity of infected mice markedly decreased. Moreover, GRh2 also significantly decreased the burden in mouse brain tissues. These findings indicate that GRh2 exhibits an anti- effect and inhibits the microglial activation through TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway, providing the basic pharmacological basis for the development of new drugs to treat toxoplasmic encephalitis.