Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) have been widely used in China to treat stroke. Accumulating evidence has found that microRNA (miR)-155 plays critical roles in the pathology of ischemic stroke. Here we investigated whether PNS plays a protective effect against oxygen-glucose deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/R)-induced focal inflammation and injury in SH-SY5Y cells by regulating miR-155 expression. Treatment with PNS at a concentration less than 160 µg/mL had no effect on the proliferation of SH-SY5Y cell.
In OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y cells, 160 µg/mL PNS treatment promoted cell proliferation and cell cycle progression, as well as decreased inhibited apoptosis and miR-155 expression. However, overexpression of miR-155 attenuated the promotion effects of PNS on cell proliferation and cell cycle, apoptosis inhibition in OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y cells. Moreover, 160 µg/mL PNS treatment decreased the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in OGD/R-induced SH-SY5Y cells, whereas overexpression of miR-155 reversed PNS-induced decreases in the levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in OGD/R-treated SH-SY5Y cells. In conclusion, PNS attenuated OGD/R-induced injury in human undifferentiated SH-SY5Y cells by regulating the expression of inflammatory factors through miR-155.