Astragaloside IV attenuates Toll-like receptor 4 expression via NF-κB pathway under high glucose condition in mesenchymal stem cells

Diabetic hyperglycemia causes a variety of pathological changes. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) was widely used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases in China. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of AS-IV on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and the underlying mechanism in diabetes. We used reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blotting to determine the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and NF-kappa B p65 in MSCs under high glucose (HG) with or without pretreatment with AS-IV. The surface expression of TLR4 was checked by flow cytometry and the expression of TNF-alpha and MCP-1 were detected by ELISA in diabetes patients treated with AS-IV. AS-IV promoted the proliferation of MSCs and attenuated the increased expression of TLR4 induced by HG. In addition, AS-IV decreased the HG-induced translocation of NF-kappa B p65 and increased the MMP-2 expression in MSCs. AS-IV decreased the TLR4, TNF-alpha and MCP-1 expression in patients. Collectively,our data revealed that AS-IV attenuated TLR4 expression through the NF-kappa B signaling pathway in MSCs. Copyright (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.