Effect of ginsenoside Rd on periventricular leukomalacia in neonatal rats and the underlying mechanism

YAO Lulu; LIU Guangling; WANG Jinya

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1002-7386.2025.01.004

Abstract：Objective To observe the effect of ginsenoside Rd(GSRd)on periventricular leukomalacia(PVL)in neonatal rats and the underlying mechanism.Methods Neonatal Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats with 3 days old were randomized into PVL model group,GSRd experimental group and sham operation group,with 24 rats per group.Rats in the PVL model group and GSRd experimental group were subjected to the separation and ligation of the left carotid artery,followed by inhalation of hypoxic gas mixture(92％N2+8％O2)for 1 h.In the sham operation group,the left carotid artery was separated without further treatment.Rats in the GSRd experimental group received intraperitoneal injection of GSRd at 30 min postoperatively for 3 days,and those in the PVL and sham operation groups received intraperitoneal injection of normal saline with the same volume.Brain tissues of 8 neonatal rats per group were randomly selected at 3,7,14 days after surgery.The hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)was conducted to detect the pathological changes,and oligodendrocyte markers O4 and O1 were detected by immunohistochemistry.Results Compared with the sham operation group,rats in the PVL model group appeared loose structure of the periventricular white matter area,cell edema,cystic necrosis,irregular of cell arrangement,microglia cell hyperplasia and glial scar formation.In the GSRd group,the enlargement of the left ventricle was alleviated,the loose structure and cell edema of that area decreased,and no obvious glial scar appeared.The pathological structure of brain tissue in the sham operation group had no significant change at each time point.At each time point after survey,O4 level in the periventricular white matter was significantly higher in the sham operation group,followed by GSRd experimental group and PVL group,so as that of O1 level(all P＜0.05).Conclusion GSRd can promote the maturation of oligodendrocytes by increasing the late OLs precursor cells and immature oligodendrocytes,thereby alleviating PVL in neonatal rats induced by hypoxia and ischemia.