Angelica stimulates proliferation of murine bone marrow mononuclear cells by the MAPK pathway

Abstract

Murine bone marrow mononuclear cells (MNC) were isolated and co-incubated with Angelica to investigate its effects on bone marrow cells and the underlying mechanism of action. Angelica stimulates MNC proliferation as determined by the 3-(4, 5-dimethythiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Our results also suggest that the mechanism of action involves the phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and P38, two key proteins in the MAPK pathway. MAPK inhibitors, PD 98059 and SB 203580, block MNC proliferation caused by Angelica. Taken together, our results show that Angelica induces the proliferation of murine MNC by activating ERK1/2 and P38 MAPK proteins.