Astragaloside IV regulates STAT1/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway to inhibit activation of BV-2 cells / 中国中药杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>The study was aimed to investigate the inhibitory effect and mechanism of astragaloside IV (ASI) on the activation of microglial cells.</p><p><b>METHOD</b>After pre-incubated with ASI for 2 h, microglial cells BV-2 were stimulated with interferon-γ (IFN-γ) for 1. 5 h and 24 h, respectively. Secretion of nitric oxide (NO) in the medium was measured by Griess method. Production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) was detected by ELISA approach. Cellular gene expressions of CD11b, TNF-α, interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and induced nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were examined by quantitative-PCR analysis. Total and phosphorylation of STAT1, IκB and NF-κB was analyzed by Western blot method.</p><p><b>RESULT</b>ASI could significantly inhibit the increased secretion of TNF-α and NO from BV-2 cells upon IFN-γ stimulation (P < 0.001). Further study showed that ASI significantly down-regulated gene expression of IL-1β and TNF-α (P < 0.01, P < 0.05) and exhibited a trend to reduce that of iNOS. IFN-γ and ASI have no obvious effect on gene expression of CD11b. Moreover, ASI inhibited the phosphorylation of STAT1, IκB and NF-κB elicited by IFN-γ stimulation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>ASI could restrain microglial activation through interfering STAT1/IκB/NF-κB signaling pathway, reducing gene expres- sion of IL-1β and TNF-α, and thus inhibiting the production of proinflammatory mediators such as NO and TNF-α.</p>

Pharmacological studies and anti-cancer mechanisms of soyasaponins: Research advances / 国际药学研究杂志

Soyasaponins are the major bioactive ingredients in plants of Leguminosae, which have been used as food addictives, cosmetics and healthy products for a long time and have shown hypolipidemic and anti-aging effects. Recently, pharmacological studies found that soyasaponins have many other effects including anti-inflammation, anti-coagulation, anti-mutagenesis, anti-tumor and renin inhibition. Among these effects, anti-tumor function of soyasaponins is one of the hot research spots. Studies demonstrated that decreasing sialic acid, inhibiting activity of protein kinase, interfering cell cycle, disrupting cell membranes and inducing apoptosis are all the possible underlying mechanisms. In this review, the recent advances in the study on chemical structure, pharmacological activities and anti-tumor mechanism of soyasaponins are reviewed, and the future developmental prospects of soyasaponins are also discussed.