The effect of ginsenosides on hepatogenic differentiation using placenta-derived stem cells as an in vitro screening system

Placenta-derived stem cells (PDSCs) isolated from human full-term placentas are able to grow through self-renewal and differentiate into multiple lineages. PDSCs have been reported to have a potential for hepatogenic differentiation and therapeutic effects in an animal model of liver injury. However, the frequency of the hepatogenic differentiation of PDSCs remains low. Saponins are a class of chemical compounds called glycosides and have various activities, including anti-inflammatory actions, anti-tumor effects, and anti-allergy and hepatoprotective activity. Because little is known about the effect of various ginsenosides on PDSC differentiation, we evaluated whether ginsenosides could induce the hepatogenic differentiation of PDSCs. PDSCs cultured under several different ginsenosides were induced to differentiate into hepatogenic lineages and were then analyzed. We found that the morphologies changed from a spindle shape to a characteristic polygonal hepatocyte-like morphology after hepatogenic differentiation induction. In addition, the differentiated cells expressed several hepatocyte-specific markers and increased their indocyanine green (ICG) uptake, although different efficacies for hepatogenic differentiation were observed according to the different ginsenoside conditions. Taken together, these data suggest that ginsenosides may contribute to enhanced hepatogenic differentiation of PDSCs and that PDSCs may be used as a source for in vitro drug screening.