Research progress in mechanism of Astragali Radix and its active components on endothelial cells and their junction / 中草药

ABSTRACT

To summarize the research progress in vascular endothelial cells junction as well as mechanism of effective components in Yiqi Chinese medicine Astragali Radix in vascular endothelial cells junction based on referring literature in recent year. Astragalus polysaccharides and Astragalus saponins can protect the integrity of endothelial cells junction by increasing tight junction protein and decreasing endothelial cell adhesion molecule. Its protection takes effect by inhibiting endothelin secretion, increasing NO release, inhibiting apoptosis, and promoting endothelial cells proliferation and migration in angiogenesis in addition, while Astragalus flavonoids inhibits apoptosis to protect the junction of endothelial cells. The multiple-targeted protective effect of Astragali Radix in vascular endothelial cells involved in p38 MAPK/NF-κB, Rho/ROCK, PI3K/Akt, and VEGF/Ang-1 signaling pathways. The current study focused on tight junctions as well as adhesion molecule inhibition of monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells. But its protection of gap junctions has rarely been studied.