Objective: The present study was designed to investigate the cytoprotective effects of ginsenoside Rg1 (GS-Rg1) against malondialdehyde (MDA)-suppressed proliferation of the mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and its possible mechanisms in vitro. Methods: Murine bone marrow-derived MSCs were treated with GS-Rg1 (10, 50, 100[Formula: see text]mg/L) for 24[Formula: see text]h before being incubated with MDA in vitro, CFU-Fassay, the cell viability and BrdU incorporation assay were examined, the

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... ion of cyclin-dependent kinase 2 (CDK2), p21 and cyclin E of MSC were examined by Q-RT-PCR and Western blotting. Results: The results showed that the number and size of murine bone marrow MSC colonies, the number of colony-forming cells, methyl thiazolyltetrazolium (MTT) absorbed value greatly and percentage of BrdU-positive cells increased significantly in MSC pretreated with GS-Rg1. GS-Rgl pretreatment markedly decreased the expression level of p21 and increased the expression of CDK2 and cyclin E. GS-Rg1 protects MSCs from MDA-suppressed proliferation. Conclusion: The protective mechanism could be related to its ability to increase the expression of CDK2 and cyclin E, and to reduce the expression of p21.