Fig. 4.

Induction of inflammatory response and chemotaxis-related genes by BPA was reduced by KRG. Functional annotation of genes regulated by BPA plus KRG compared with those regulated by BPA alone. Gene Ontology analysis of regulated DEGs in the liver and uterus (A). Genes showing equal expression are marked with red boxes. Heat map plots of DEGs related to the inflammatory response and chemotaxis. The genes upregulated by BPA were identified and evaluated in the BPA plus KRG group and visualized as heat maps (B). Total RNA of the liver and uterus was extracted, and the expression level of the VCAM-1 and CCR7 mRNA was analyzed by real-time PCR (C). TNF-α protein levels in the liver and uterus were analyzed by ELISA (D). ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗P < 0.01. BPA vs OVX-control; #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 BPA vs BPA with KRG. BPA, bisphenol A; KRG, Korean Red Ginseng; OVX, ovariectomized; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; ELISA, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; DEGs, differentially expressed genes.