ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo establish a method based on specific polymerase chain reaction （PCR） that can accurately and rapidly identify Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus （AMM） seeds and A. membranaceus （AM） seeds. MethodThe Chloroplast Genome Information Resource （CGIR） and IdenDSS were used to obtain the characteristic DNA fragments of AMM and AM， and the specific single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） sites of AMM and AM were screened out， on the basis of which the specific primers MG-F/MG-R of AMM and MJ-F/MJ-R of AM were designed. The specific PCR method for identifying AMM and AM was established and optimized， and the specificity and applicability of the method were investigated. ResultThe specific PCR conditions for the identification of AMM were primers MG-F/MG-R， annealing at 62 ℃， and 28 cycles. After PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis， the specific band appeared at about 220 bp， with no band for the seeds of AM or adulterants. The specific PCR conditions for identifying the AM were primers MJ-F/MJ-R， annealing at 58 ℃， and 28 cycles. After PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis， the band appeared at about 150 bp， with no band of AMM or adulterants. ConclusionThe specific PCR method established in this study can accurately and quickly identify the seeds of AMM and AM， which provides a basis for the classification and accurate identification of Astragalus seeds and adulterants.
ABSTRACT
Heart failure is one of the main cardiovascular system diseases at present， and it is a clinical syndrome caused by changes in cardiac structure and function， resulting in impaired ejection function or ventricular filling. Therefore， heart failure has become the most important cardiovascular disease in the 21st century. In recent years， the incidence of heart failure is increasing， and the survival rate of patients with heart failure is very low. Traditional Chinese medicine has rich experience in preventing and treating heart failure. With the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine， more and more attention has been paid to the research， development， and application of active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine. Traditional Chinese medicine has unique advantages in improving the heart function of patients with heart failure by treating multiple targets and multiple pathways through syndrome differentiation. Astragalus membranacus， a traditional Chinese medicine， is a kind of medicine that benefits Qi and blood circulation and removes evil spirits. It has the functions of improving myocardial energy metabolism and hemodynamics， protecting myocardial muscle， and promoting angiogenesis. Astragalus membranaceus is often used to treat patients with heart failure， yielding remarkable results. In recent years， it has been found that astragaloside， Astragalus polysaccharide， quercetin， calyx isoflavones， and other main active ingredients of Astragalus membranacus can improve cardiac function and treat heart failure by inhibiting inflammatory response， myocardial apoptosis， and myocardial fibrosis. This paper reviewed the research progress of the action and mechanism of the active ingredients of Astragalus membranacus in the treatment of heart failure by studying relevant literature， with a view to providing a reference for its further research， development， and application in the prevention and treatment of heart failure.
ABSTRACT
Astragalus, which was first documented in Shennong Bencao Jing, is the dried root of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. or Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. var. mongholicus (Bge.) Hsiao. The active ingredients astragalus membranaceus saponins (AMS), astragalus polysaccharides (APS) and astragalus flavonoids (AFS) have pharmacological effects such as anti-tumor properties, lowering blood sugar, regulating lipid metabolism, cardiovascular protection, anti-oxidation, bone protection, anti-fibrosis, etc. Fibrosis affects almost all organs, particularly vital organs such as the lungs, liver, heart and kidneys. The primary pathological changes of fibrosis involve abnormal increase of myofibroblasts and excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, which lead to the formation of scar tissue, ultimately resulting in fibrosis and even functional loss or failure of organs, which seriously threatens human health and life. Recent, studies have shown that Astragalus membranaceus has a good therapetuic effect on organ fibrosis. This article reviews the current advances of Astragalus in the prevention and treatment of fibrosis of lungs, liver, heart, kidneys and other important organs.
ABSTRACT
The primary chemical components of Astragalus membranaceus include polysaccharides, saponins, flavonoids, and amino acids. Recent studies have shown that Astragalus membranaceus has multiple functions, including improving immune function and exerting antioxidative, anti-radiation, anti-tumor, antibacterial, antiviral, and hormone-like effects. Astragalus membranaceus and its extracts are widely used in clinical practice because they have obvious therapeutic effects against various autoimmune diseases and relatively less adverse reaction. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease of central nervous system (CNS), which mainly caused by immune disorder that leads to inflammatory demyelination, inflammatory cell infiltration, and axonal degeneration in the CNS. In this review, the authors analyzed the clinical manifestations of MS and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and focused on the efficacy of Astragalus membranaceus and its chemical components in the treatment of MS/EAE.
Subject(s)
Animals , Humans , Astragalus propinquus/chemistry , Multiple Sclerosis/drug therapy , Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/metabolism , Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry , PolysaccharidesABSTRACT
italic>Astragalus is a commonly used Chinese medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and with the increase of planting area in recent years, the damage of Astragalus root rot has worsened year by year, which seriously affecting its quality and yield. Fusarium oxysporum is one of the main pathogens causing root rot in astragalus. In this study, UPLC-Q-TOF-MS based metabolomic approach combined with multivariate statistical analysis were used to analyze the metabolite changes of Astragalus in response to F. oxysporum infection. The results showed that 62 metabolites in the Astragalus had significant changes after inoculation of F. oxysporum. Polar metabolites included 40 flavonoids, 8 saponins, 2 nucleosides, 1 vitamin, 1 organic acid, 1 amino acid; while lipid metabolites included 3 fatty acids, 1 diradylglycerols, 2 lysophosphatidylcholine, 1 lysophosphatidylglycerol, 1 phosphatidylinositol, 1 sterol lipid. Among these differential metabolites, the relative content of flavonoids, vitamin B2, tryptophan and salicylic acid were increased, while the relative content of saponins were decreased. Correlation analysis showed that the flavonoids were positively correlated with each other, and positively correlated with most lipids, but negatively correlated with most saponins. In addition, studies have shown that F. oxysporum infection is not an influencing factor for the generation of malonyl substitution of flavonoid. This study elucidates the effect of F. oxysporum infection on Astragalus from the perspective of plant metabolism, which provides a basis for exploring the interaction mechanism between the Astragalus and F. oxysporum and further promoting molecular breeding.
ABSTRACT
Root rot severely restricts the sustainable development of Astragalus membranaceus var. mongholicus (AMM) industry. Resistance breeding is an economical and environmentally safe way to manage the disease and its key lies in the obtaining of resistance indicators. This study aimed to quickly and accurately screen the resistance-related (RR) metabolites so as to provide reference for the screening of indicators of AMM breeding for resistance. LC-MS-based targeted metabolomics and real-time quantitative PCR technology were employed, in combination with multivariate statistical analysis, in analyzing the dynamic changes of phenylpropanoid metabolites in AMM in response to root rot pathogen Fusarium solani (FS) infection and identifying the differential metabolites. The LC-MS method established showed high sensitivity; each metabolite had a good linear relationship (R2 ≥ 0.968 9) in the corresponding linear range of the respective standard curve; the recoveries and the relative standard deviations (RSDs) (n = 6) ranged from 70% to 107% and from 1.2% to 9.9%, respectively. Obvious disturbances were observed in the changes of the targeted metabolites in AMM infected by FS. These metabolites, compared with the mock-inoculated (CK) group, showed different up or down regulation with time series. Calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucoside, ononin, calycosin and formononetin were identified as differential metabolites, and they all belong to flavonoids. The first three compounds were significantly negatively correlated (r ≤ -0.97, P < 0.05) with the content of FS in the root of AMM. As potential RR metabolites, they are helpful in obtaining promising resistance indicators for AMM against FS infection.
ABSTRACT
Astragalosides are the main active constituents of traditional Chinese medicine Huang-Qi, of which cycloastragenol-type glycosides are the most typical and major bioactive compounds. This kind of compounds exhibit various biological functions including cardiovascular protective, neuroprotective, etc. Owing to the limitations of natural sources and the difficulties encountered in chemical synthesis, re-engineering of biosynthetic machinery will offer an alternative and promising approach to producing astragalosides. However, the biosynthetic pathway for astragalosides remains elusive due to their complex structures and numerous reaction types and steps. Herein, guided by transcriptome and phylogenetic analyses, a cycloartenol synthase and four glycosyltransferases catalyzing the committed steps in the biosynthesis of such bioactive astragalosides were functionally characterized from Astragalus membranaceus. AmCAS1, the first reported cycloartenol synthase from Astragalus genus, is capable of catalyzing the formation of cycloartenol; AmUGT15, AmUGT14, AmUGT13, and AmUGT7 are four glycosyltransferases biochemically characterized to catalyze 3-O-xylosylation, 3-O-glucosylation, 25-O-glucosylation/O-xylosylation and 2'-O-glucosylation of cycloastragenol glycosides, respectively. These findings not only clarified the crucial enzymes for the biosynthesis and the molecular basis for the structural diversity of astragalosides in Astragalus plants, also paved the way for further completely deciphering the biosynthetic pathway and constructing an artificial pathway for their efficient production.
ABSTRACT
Size and surface modification are the two key factors affecting the effect of macrophages polarization induced by superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). The smaller the particle size, the better the polarization effect of SPIONs. Besides, the reasonable SPIONs surface modification method can also be used to enhance the polarization effect. In this study, SPIONs was prepared by solvothermal method and optimized by Box-Benhnken center combination design and response surface method. Furthermore, astragalus polysaccharide-superparamagnetic iron oxide nanocomplex (APS-SPIONs) was successfully constructed by EDC/NHS esterification method. The structure of APS-SPIONs was confirmed by dynamic light scatter and infrared spectrometer, and the contents of iron and polysaccharide were characterized by spectrophotometry. The effect of APS-SPIONs on inducing mouse macrophages RAW264.7 polarization was investigated by flow cytometry. The RAW264.7 macrophages-HepG2 human hepatoma cancer cells Transwell co-culture system was established to investigate APS-SPIONs improve anti-tumor function of macrophages in vitro, and the proliferation activity of APS-SPIONs on RAW264.7 detected by cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) method. The results showed that the average particle size and zeta potential of APS-SPIONs were (82.93 ± 1.47) nm and (-24.00 ± 0.47) mV. Polysaccharide and Fe content were 8.69% and 7.04%, respectively. APS-SPIONs effectively induced the polarization of RAW264.7 into M1 type in vitro, improving the anti-tumor ability of macrophages in a co-culture system, without effecting the proliferation of macrophages. Our study provides a drug development strategy and preliminary research results to educate macrophages and reshape the tumor immune microenvironment to achieve tumor-killing effects.
ABSTRACT
@#Objective To investigate the effect of astragalus membranaceus（AM）injection on apoptosis and autophagy of human gastric epithelial cell line（GES⁃1）induced by enterovirus 71（EV71）. Methods GES⁃1 cells were cultured in vitro and divided into infected group（EV71 infected at a MOI of 3 and control group（no virus infected）. The morpho⁃logical changes of EV71 infected cells were observed by inverted microscope. The level of VP1 in GES⁃1 cells infected with EV71 was detected by Western blot；CCK⁃8 assay was used to detect the viability of GES⁃1 cells infected with EV71；Nuclear staining with DAPI was used to observe the morphological changes of nuclear apoptosis infected with EV71. GES⁃1 cells were divided into control group（without virus infection），infection group and AM intervention group with final concentration of 1，2. 5，5 and 10 μg／mL，respectively. Western blot was used to detect the effect of AM intervention on the expression of apoptosis⁃related proteins Caspase⁃3，PARP and autophagy⁃related proteins LC3 and P62 in GES⁃1 cells infected withEV71. CCK⁃8 method was used to detect the effect of AM intervention on the viability of GES⁃1 cells infected with EV71. Results GES⁃1 cells were round，shrunken with nuclear pyknosis and uneven size；VP1 level increased（t = 41. 56，P < 0. 01），cell viability decreased（t = 19. 07，P < 0. 01），Caspase⁃3 and PARP proteins were cut off（t = 35. 29 and 3. 648， P < 0. 01 and 0. 021 8，respectively），LC3Ⅱ／LC3Ⅰ ratio increased（t = 10. 16，P = 0. 000 5）and P62 protein was degraded（t = 68. 68，P < 0. 01）；AM inhibited the degradation of Caspase⁃3，PARP and P62 proteins induced by EV71 （t = 52. 66，59. 60 and 40. 22，respectively，each P < 0. 01）and increased the ratio of LC3Ⅱ／LC3Ⅰ（t = 5. 521，P = 0. 005 3），andreducedtheinhibitoryeffectofEV71ontheviabilityofGES⁃1cells（t =4. 420，P =0. 0115）. Conclusion EV71 infection induced apoptosis of GES⁃ 1 cells and AM intervention inhibited EV71 induced apoptosis by inhibiting EV71 induced autophagy.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To optimize extraction technology of couplet medicinals of Astragalus membranaceus-Puerariae lobatae. METHODS With contents of puerarin，daidzin，calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside，daidzein，calycosin and formononetin and the yield of dry extract as index，the analytic hierarchy method was used to determine the weight coefficient of each index and calculate the comprehensive score. The effects of solid-liquid ratio， extraction times and extraction time on the comprehensive score were investigated by single factor test. The level of each factor was determined. By multi-index comprehensive scoring method， using comprehensive scores of above 7 indexes as indexes，the extraction technology of couplet medicinals of A. membranaceus-P. lobata was optimized by orthogonal experiment，and the validation tests were conducted. RESULTS The weight coefficient for the contents of puerarin，daidzin，calycosin-7-O-β-D-glucopyranoside，daidzein，calycosin and formononetin and the yield of dry extract were respectively 0.304 7，0.065 2，0.185 8，0.185 8，0.107 8，0.107 8 and 0.042 7. The optimal extraction technology was determined as follows： solid-liquid of 1∶8（g/mL），extracting 3 times and for 1 h each time. RSD of each evaluation index in the validation test results was lower than 3.00% （n＝3）. CONCLUSIONS The optimized extraction technology for A. membranaceus-P. lobata is stable and feasible.
ABSTRACT
The syndrome of dampness stagnancy due to spleen deficiency (DSSD) is relatively common globally. Although the pathogenesis of DSSD remains unclear, evidence has suggested that the gut microbiota might play a significant role. Radix Astragali, used as both medicine and food, exerts the effects of tonifying spleen and qi. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) comprises a macromolecule substance extracted from the dried root of Radix Astragali, which has many pharmacological functions. However, whether APS mitigates the immune disorders underlying the DSSD syndrome via regulating gut microbiota and the relevant mechanism remains unknown. Here, we used DSSD rats induced by high-fat and low-protein (HFLP) diet plus exhaustive swimming, and found that APS of moderate molecular weight increased the body weight gain and immune organ indexes, decreased the levels of interleukin-1β (IL-1β), IL-6, and endotoxin, and suppressed the Toll-like receptor 4/nuclear factor-κB (TLR4/NF-κB) pathway. Moreover, a total of 27 critical genera were significantly enriched according to the linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe). APS increased the diversity of the gut microbiota and changed its composition, such as reducing the relative abundance of Pseudoflavonifractor and Paraprevotella, and increasing that of Parasutterella, Parabacteroides, Clostridium XIVb, Oscillibacter, Butyricicoccus, and Dorea. APS also elevated the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Furthermore, the correlation analysis indicated that 12 critical bacteria were related to the body weight gain and immune organ indexes. In general, our study demonstrated that APS ameliorated the immune disorders in DSSD rats via modulating their gut microbiota, especially for some bacteria involving immune and inflammatory response and SCFA production, as well as the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. This study provides an insight into the function of APS as a unique potential prebiotic through exerting systemic activities in treating DSSD.
Subject(s)
Rats , Animals , NF-kappa B/metabolism , Spleen , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Toll-Like Receptor 4 , Polysaccharides/pharmacology , Astragalus Plant/metabolism , Immune System Diseases/drug therapy , Body WeightABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To investigate whether astragalus polysaccharides (APS) combined with berberine (BBR) can reduce high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity in mice.@*METHODS@#Except for normal mice, 32 HFD-induced obese mice were randomized into HFD, APS (1,000 mg/kg APS), BBR (200 mg/kg BBR), and APS plus BBR (1,000 mg/kg APS plus 200 mg/kg BBR) groups, respectively. After 6-week treatment (once daily by gavage), the obesity phenotype and pharmacodynamic effects were evaluated by histopathological examination of epididymal fat, liver, and colon using hematoxylin-eosin staining and serum biochemical analyses by an automated chemistry analyzer. The feces were collected at the 12 th week, and taxonomic and functional profiles of gut microbiota were analyzed by 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (16S rRNA) sequencing.@*RESULTS@#Compared with HFD group, the average body weight of APS plus BBR group was decreased (P<0.01), accompanied with the reduced fat accumulation, enhanced colonic integrity, insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis (P<0.05 or P<0.01). Importantly, APS combined with BBR treatment was more effective than APS or BBR alone in improving HFD-induced insulin resistance (P<0.05 or P<0.01). 16S rRNA sequence-based analysis of fecal samples demonstrated that APS combined with BBR treatment exhibited a better impact on HFD-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis, exclusively via the enriched abundances of Bacteroides, which corresponded to the large increase of predicted bacterial genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism.@*CONCLUSION@#APS combined with BBR may synergistically reduce obesity and modulate the gut microbiota in HFD-fed mice.
Subject(s)
Mice , Animals , Diet, High-Fat , Berberine/therapeutic use , Mice, Obese , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Obesity/drug therapy , Insulin Resistance , Mice, Inbred C57BLABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo explore the neuroprotective effect of Buyang Huanwutang （BYHW） on diabetic peripheral neuropathy （DPN） rats by regulating SIRT1/p53 pathway and to clarify the mechanism and the dosage of astragalus in the prescription. MethodA total of 90 SD rats were randomized into control group， DPN group， DPN + BYHW containing 120 g Astragalus （at 15 g·kg-1·d-1） （BYHW120 group）， DPN + BYHW containing 60 g Astragalus （at 8.75 g·kg-1·d-1） （BYHW60 group）， DPN + BYHW containing 30 g Astragalus （at 5.625 g·kg-1·d-1） （BYHW30 group）， and DPN + α-lipoic acid （at 60 mg·kg-1·d-1） （ALA group）. Standard diet was given to rats in the control group and high-carbohydrate/high-fat diet and streptozotocin （ip） were used to induce diabetes in rats in other groups. The administration lasted 12 weeks. After the intervention， mechanical pain threshold and nerve conduction velocity were detected. The L4-5 dorsal root ganglions were stained with haematoxylin-eosin （HE） and toluidine blue to observe the pathological changes， and the apoptosis of nerve cells was detected by terminal deoxynucleotidal transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling （TUNEL） assay. Cleaved cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-3 （Caspase-3）， and the main proteins in the SIRT1/p53 pathway， such as silencing information regulator 2 related enzyme 1 （SIRT1）， acetyl-p53， dynamin-related protein 1 （Drp1）， Bcl-2 associated X protein （Bax）， and B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， were detected by immunohistochemistry and Western blot. ResultCompared with the control group， the DPN group presented increase in blood glucose （P<0.01）， decrease in nerve conduction velocity and mechanical pain threshold （P<0.01）， rise of the percentage of positive cells （TUNEL assay， the same below） and the expression of cleaved Caspase-3 （P<0.01）， drop in the expression of SIRT1 （P<0.01）， and elevation of acetyl-p53， Drp1， and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio （P<0.01）. Cleaved Caspase-3， acetyl-p53， Drp1， and Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in each administration group decreased as compared with those in the DPN group （P<0.01）. Nerve conduction velocity， mechanical pain threshold （P<0.05， P<0.01）， and the percentage of positive cells （P<0.05， P<0.01） increased in the administration groups as compared with those in the DPN group except for the BYHW30 group， and BYHW120 group and ALA group showed the increase in SIRT1 （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Nerve conduction velocity， mechanical pain threshold， and SIRT1 expression were lower （P<0.05， P<0.01） and expression of cleaved Caspase-3 was higher （P<0.01） in the BYHW60 and BYHW30 groups than in the BYHW120 group. The percentage of positive cells and the expression of acetyl-p53 were higher in the BYHW30 group than in the BYHW120 group （P<0.01）. ConclusionBYHW inhibits apoptosis and exerts therapeutic effect on DPN by regulating the SIRT1/p53 pathway. The therapeutic effect is related to the dosage of Astragalus in the prescription. BYHW containing 120 g Astragalus suppresses p53-dependent apoptosis more significantly than Buyang Huanwutang containing 60 g and 30 g of Astragalus.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo study the effect-enhancing and toxicity-reducing activities of astragalus polysaccharide injection （APS） on U14 cervical cancer in model mice receiving X-ray treatment. MethodU14 mouse cervical cancer cells were cultured in vitro and injected into the right forelimb armpit of Kunming mice for constructing a subcutaneous tumor-bearing model of cervical cancer. The tumor-bearing mice were randomly divided into the model group， X-ray intervention（IR， 6 Gy） group， APS （10 mL·kg-1·d-1） group， and IR + APS group. Following the observation of the state， body mass， and food intake of mice in each group， the volume of the tumor was measured. The tumor cell cycle and apoptosis were determined by flow cytometry. The protein and mRNA expression levels of apoptosis-related proteins p53， B-cell lymphoma-2 （Bcl-2）， Bcl-2-associated X protein （Bax）， and cleaved cysteine-dependent aspartate-directed protease-3 （Caspase-3） in tumor tissues were assayed by Western blot and real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. ResultThe comparison with the model group showed that mice in the IR group had poor mental status and reduced mobility. The IR group and IR + APS group exhibited reduced food intake and body mass since the 8th d （P<0.05， P<0.01） and narrowed tumor volume since the 9th d （P<0.01）. In the IR group， the proportion of cells in the G1 phase was increased， while the proportion of those in the S phase was decreased （P<0.01）. In the IR + APS group， the proportion of cells in the G1 phase rose， whereas the proportion of those in the G2 and S phases cells declined （P<0.05， P<0.01）. The apoptotic rates in both the IR group and IR + APS group were elevated significantly （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， the IR group and IR + APS group displayed up-regulated cleaved Caspase-3 and Bax protein and mRNA expression in tumor tissues， but down-regulated Bcl-2 and p53 protein and mRNA expression （P<0.05， P<0.01）. Compared with the IR group， the mice in the IR + APS group had better mobility and hair， normal body mass， and increased food intake （P<0.05）. The tumor volume in the IR + APS group was reduced （P<0.05）. The proportion of cells in the G2 phase was reduced， but the proportion of those in the S phase was raised （P<0.05）. The apoptosis rate was increased （P<0.05）. The apoptosis-related protein Bax protein expression in the tumor tissue was up-regulated， while the protein expression levels of Bcl-2 and p53 were down-regulated （P<0.05， P<0.01）. ConclusionAPS maintains the life state of U14 cervical cancer model mice treated with X-ray and promotes tumor cell apoptosis， thus enhancing the efficiency and reducing toxicity.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE To study the mitigation effect and its possible mechanism of Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharide on the pulmonary hypertension induced by monocrotaline in rats. METHODS One hundred SD male rats were randomly divided into normal control group ，monocrotaline group ，A. membranaceus polysaccharide low-dose and high-dose groups. In addition to the normal control group, rats in other groups were injected with monocrotaline by single intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg. On days 2 to 28 after administration ，rats in the A. membranaceus polysaccharide low-dose and high-dose groups were intraperitoneally injected with A. membranaceus polysaccharide of 200 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg，respectively，once a day. There were 25 rats in each group，and 15 rats were taken for index detection. The mean pulmonary artery pressure （mPAP）and right heart hypertrophy index （RVHI）were detected ，and morphology changes of pulmonary artery and cardiomyocytes were monitored . mRNA and protein expression of IL- 17 in their lung tissues were detected. RESULTS Compared with normal control group ，mPAP and RVHI of monocrotaline group and A. membranaceus polysaccharide groups were increased significantly （P＜0.01）；mRNA and protein expression of IL- 17 in lung tissues were significantly increased （P＜0.01），and there were obvious pathological changes in pulmonary artery and cardiomyocytes. Compared with monocrotaline group ，mPAP and RVHI were significantly decreased in A. membranaceus polysaccharide groups （P＜0.01），while mRNA and protein expression of IL- 17 in lung tissue were decreased significantly （P＜0.01）；pathological changes in pulmonary artery and cardiomyocytes were improved. Compared with A. membranaceus polysaccharide low-dose group ，above indexes and pathological changes were improved significantly in high-dose group. CONCLUSIONS A. membranaceus polysaccharide can reduce monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertension ，improve pulmonary artery structure and myocardial remodeling in rats ， the mechanism of which is presumably related to the down-regulation of IL- 17 expression in lung tissue of rats.
ABSTRACT
Aging can cause degenerative changes in the function of multiple tissues and organs in the body. Gastrointestinal diseases and intestinal dysfunction are very common in the elderly people. The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of the total extract of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. on intestinal function and gut microbiota homeostasis in natural aging mice, which will provide clues for further mechanism study. The natural aging mice model is established and animal experiments follow the regulations of the Animal Ethics Committee of Nanjing University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. The overall health of the mice was evaluated by the "frailty index" scoring method. The intestinal absorption and transport function were measured by detecting intestinal glucose absorption capacity, transport time, lipase and amylase activities of aging mice. Intestinal inflammation was assessed by detecting inflammatory cytokines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The pathological changes in the intestines of aging mice were tested by hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining and alizarin blue (AB) staining. The qRT-PCR method was used to explore the gene transcription level related with the proliferation and differentiation of intestinal stem cells. Microbiota analysis based on 16S rDNA were used to evaluate the composition of gut microbiota. The results showed that Astragalus had a tendency to reduce the "frailty index" of aging mice, but did not show a significant difference. In some indicators of aging phenotype, Astragalus has the most significant effect on hair loss and physical fitness. In terms of intestinal function, Astragalus could increase intestinal glucose absorption capacity, shorten intestinal transportation time and promote lipase secretion in aging mice. The levels of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the aging intestinal tissue were reduced after Astragalus administration. Astragalus also ameliorated the pathological degeneration of the intestinal tissue of aging mice by increasing the length of small intestinal villi, the thickness of colonic mucosa and goblet cell number. In addition, Astragalus elevated the expression of genes associated with the proliferation and differentiation in jejunum and modulated gut microbiota, especially restoring the abundance of Lachnospiraceae. Taken together, the above research results demonstrate the total extract of Astragalus as a key factor improving the intestinal function and gut microbiota homeostasis of aging mice.
ABSTRACT
The compounds in leaf and stem extracts of Astragalus emarginatus Labill.(AEL),a plant species used in traditional Lebanese medicine,were investigated for antioxidant properties.First,the activity of various extracts was assessed using the Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity,oxygen radical absorption ca-pacity,and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazy l-hydrate assays.The extract obtained using 30％ethanol showed the greatest activity.The antioxidant compounds in this extract were screened using a hy-phenated high-performance liquid chromatography-2,2-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonate)radical(ABTS+)system before being separated by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography and identified using high-resolution mass spectrometry and ultra-violet-visible diode array detection.Approximately 40 compounds were identified.Hydroxycinnamates(caffeic,ferulic,and p-coumaric acid derivatives)and flavonoids(quercetin,luteolin,apigenin,and isorhamnetin derivatives)were the two main categories of the identified compounds.The active compounds were identified as caffeic acid de-rivatives and quercetin glycosides.In addition,the catechol moiety was shown to be key to antioxidant activity.This study showed that AEL is a source of natural antioxidants,which may explain its medicinal use.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES@#Nephrotic syndrome is a common disease of the urinary system. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of astragalus polysaccharides (APS) on multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) and P-glycoprotein 170 (P-gp170) in adriamycin nephropathy rats and the underlying mechanisms.@*METHODS@#A total of 72 male Wistar rats were divided into a control group, a model group, an APS low-dose group, an APS high-dose group, an APS+micro RNA (miR)-16 antagomir group and an APS+miR-16 antagomir control group, with 12 rats in each group. Urine protein (UP) was detected by urine analyzer, and serum cholesterol (CHOL), albumin (ALB), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine (SCr) were detected by automatic biochemical analyzer; serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) levels were detected by ELISA kit; the morphological changes of kidney tissues were observed by HE staining; the levels of miR-16 and MDR1 mRNA in kidney tissues were detected by real-time RT-PCR; the expression levels of NF-κB p65, p-NF-κB p65, and P-gp170 protein in kidney tissues were detected by Western blotting; and dual luciferase was used to verify the relationship between miR-16 and NF-κB.@*RESULTS@#The renal tissue structure of rats in the control group was normal without inflammatory cell infiltration. The renal glomeruli of rats in the model group were mildly congested, capillary stenosis or occlusion, and inflammatory cell infiltration was obvious. The rats in the low-dose and high-dose APS groups had no obvious glomerular congestion, the proliferation of mesangial cells was significantly reduced, and the inflammatory cells were reduced. Compared with the high-dose APS group and the APS+miR-16 antagomir control group, there were more severe renal tissue structure damages in the APS + miR-16 antagomir group. Compared with the control group, the levels of UP, CHOL, BUN, SCr, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and MDR1 mRNA, and the protein levels of p-NF-κB p65 and P-gp170 in the model group were significantly increased (all P<0.05); the levels of ALB and miR-16 were significantly decreased (both P<0.05). Compared with the model group, the levels of UP, CHOL, BUN, SCr, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and MDR1 mRNA, and the protein levels of pNF-κB p65 and P-gp170 in the low-dose and high-dose APS groups were significant decreased (all P<0.05); and the levels of ALB and miR-16 were significantly increased (both P<0.05). Compared with APS+miR-16 antagomir control group, the UP, CHOL, BUN, SCr, IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α levels, MDR1 mRNA, and the protein levels of p-NF-κB p65 and P-gp170 were significantly increased (all P<0.05). The levels of ALB and miR-16 were significantly decreased in the APS+miR-16 antagomir group compared with the APS+miR-16 antagomir control group (both P<0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#APS can regulate the miR-16/NF-κB signaling pathway, thereby affecting the levels of MDR1 and P-gp170, and reducing the inflammation in the kidney tissues in the adriamycin nephropathy rats.
Subject(s)
Animals , Male , Rats , ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1/genetics , Antagomirs , Doxorubicin/toxicity , Genes, MDR , Interleukin-6/metabolism , Kidney Diseases/genetics , MicroRNAs/metabolism , NF-kappa B/metabolism , Polysaccharides/pharmacology , RNA, Messenger , Rats, Wistar , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/metabolismABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo explore the mechanism of antidepressant effect of lily polysaccharide （LLP）and astragalus polysaccharide（APS）. MethodSixty KM mice were randomly divided into blank group， model group， fluoxetine hydrochloride （8 mg·kg-1）group， LLP （0.2 g·kg-1）group， APS （0.2 g·kg-1）group and polysaccharide combination （LLP+APS，0.1 g·kg-1+0.1 g·kg-1）group， with 10 mice in each group. Except the blank group， the other groups were given chronic unpredictable mild stress （CUMS） induced mouse depression model. On the 29th day of modeling，fluoxetine hydrochloride group was given corresponding dose of fluoxetine hydrochloride， and polysaccharide groups were given corresponding drug. The depressive behavior of mice was evaluated by behavioral indexes such as body mass change， open field test. The morphological changes of hippocampal CA1 neurons were observed by Nissl staining. The contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine （5-HT）， adrenocorticotropic hormone （ACTH）， and corticosterone （CORT）， in brain tissue and plasma were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of related proteins in adenylate cyclase/cyclic adenylate phosphate/protein kinase A （AC/cAMP/PKA） signal pathway. ResultCompared with the blank group， mice in the model group gained weight slowly， the total distance， central distance and sugar water preference rate decreased significantly （P<0.01）， the depressive behavior was significant， the hippocampal neurons were seriously damaged， the content of 5-HT decreased （P<0.01）， the contents of ACTH and CORT increased significantly （P<0.01）， adenylate cyclase 6（ADCY6）， PKA and cAMP response element binding protein-1 （CREB-1） and brain-derived neurotrophic factor （BDNF） protein expression decreased significantly （P<0.01）. Compared with the model group， depressive behavior of mice in LLP group， APS group and LLP+APS group was significantly improved （P<0.01）. The antidepressant effect of LLP+APS was better than that of LLP and APS. Each administration group could alleviate the damage of hippocampal neurons in varying degrees， significantly increase the content of 5-HT in brain tissue （P<0.01）， and reduce the levels of ACTH and CORT in plasma （P<0.05）. The protein levels of ADCY6， PKA， CREB-1 and BDNF were significantly increased （P<0.05）. ConclusionThe antidepressant effect of LLP+APS is significantly enhanced and has a synergistic effect. The mechanism may be closely related to affecting the content of neurotransmitters， inhibiting HPA axis activity and activating AC/cAMP/PKA signal transduction pathway.
ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo investigate the inhibitory effect of Astragalus polysaccharide （APS） on epithelial-mesenchymal transition （EMT） induced by transforming growth factor-β1 （TGF-β1） in cisplatin （DDP）-resistant lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549/DDP cells transplanted into nude mice and the molecular mechanism in improving DDP resistance. MethodBALB/c nude mice were randomly divided into a blank group， a model group， a DDP group， and a combination group （APS combined with DDP）. A549/DDP cells were infected with TGF-β1-overexpressed lentiviral vector and the negative control. The infected cells were inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice. The A549/DDP cells with TGF-β1 gene overexpression were inoculated into all groups except the control group with negative TGF-β1 gene overexpression. The drug intervention was performed eight days after cell inoculation. The mice in the combination group received intragastric administration of APS （0.3 g·kg-1·d-1） and intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin （0.003 5 g·kg-1）， and those in the cisplatin group received intraperitoneal injection of cisplatin （0.003 5 g·kg-1）. After 32 days of cell inoculation， the nude mice were killed and the tumor tissues and lungs were collected. The tumor weight was recorded and the inhibition rate was calculated. The number of metastatic nodules of the lung tumor on the whole slide was counted under the microscope. Immunohistochemistry， Western blot， and real-time fluorescence-based quantitative polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR） were used to detect the protein and gene expression of EMT molecular markers α-catenin and N-cadherin， and tumor drug resistance markers human lung resistance protein （LRP）， multidrug resistance-associated protein （MRP）， and P-glycoprotein （P-gp） in the transplanted tumor. ResultCompared with the blank group， the model group showed increased tumor weight and metastatic nodules of the lung tumor （P<0.05）， decreased protein and mRNA expression of α-catenin （P<0.05）， and elevated protein and mRNA expression of N-cadherin， LRP， MRP， and P-gp （P<0.05）. Compared with the model group and the cisplatin group， the combination group showed reduced tumor weight and metastatic nodules of the lung tumor （P<0.05）， increased protein and mRNA expression of α-catenin （P<0.05）， and decreased protein and mRNA expression of N-cadherin， LRP， MRP， and P-gp （P<0.05）. ConclusionAPS can inhibit the growth and metastasis of the transplanted tumor of lung adenocarcinoma and improve cisplatin resistance， which may be related to the inhibition of EMT of tumor cells.