Fig. 1.

Ginsenoside Rb1 enhances macrophage phagocytosis through p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activation. (A) Peritoneal macrophages were cultured with Rb1 (0, 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 μM) for 2 h, and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated Escherichia coli was added to culture media for 20 min, followed by flow cytometry. (B) Representative flow cytometry histograms are shown. (C–F) Peritoneal macrophages were cultured with Rb1 (0, 0.3, 1, 3, and 10 μM) for 30 min (C, D) or with Rb1 (3 μM) for the indicated time periods (E, F). The whole cell lysates were subjected to electrophoresis in polyacrylamide gels. (G) Peritoneal macrophages were incubated with SB203580 (SB; 0 or 10 μM) for 30 min before culture with Rb1 (0 or 3 μM) for 2 h and then subjected to FITC-conjugated E. coli for 20 min. Each bar represents the mean ± standard deviation (n = 4). *p < 0.05 compared to the control.