20(S)-Protopanaxdiol Suppresses the Abnormal Granule-Monocyte Differentiation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells in 4T1 Breast Cancer-Bearing Mouse

Panax notoginseng (PN) has been used as a qi- and blood-activating (Huoxue) drug for thousands of years in China. It has also been widely used as an anticancer drug at present. As a Huoxue drug, the effect of PN on hematopoietic differentiation in tumor-bearing body has been paid more and more attention. Our research found that panax notoginseng saponins (PNS), especially panaxadiol saponins (PDS) and its aglucon 20(S)-Protopanaxdiol (PPD), could improve the immunosuppressive state by regulating the abnormal hematopoietic differentiation in a tumor-bearing body by multiple ways. An interesting phenomenon is that PDS reduced the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) via its inhibition effect on the granule-monocyte differentiation of spleen cells, which is associated with a decrease in the secretion of tumor MPO, G-CSF, PU.1, and C/EBP alpha. Otherwise, PDS increased the proportion of both hematopoietic stem cells and erythroid progenitor cells in the bone marrow, but inhibited spleen erythroid differentiation via inhibiting secretion of tumor EPO, GATA-1, and GATA-2. This study suggests that PNS regulated the tumor-induced abnormal granule-monocyte differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells, affecting the distribution and function of haemocytes in tumor-bearing mice.