Astragaloside IV Ameliorates Airway Inflammation in an Established Murine Model of Asthma by Inhibiting the mTORC1 Signaling Pathway

Abstract EN

Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a main active constituent of Astragalus membranaceus, has been confirmed to have antiasthmatic effects.

However, it remained unclear whether the beneficial effects of AS-IV on asthma were attributed to the mTOR inhibition; this issue was the focus of the present work.

BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin followed with 3 weeks of rest/recovery and then reexposure to ovalbumin.

AS-IV was administrated during the time of rest and reexposure.

The characteristic features of allergic asthma, including airway hyperreactivity, histopathology, cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, and INF-γ), and CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), and downstream proteins of mTORC1/2 signaling were examined.

AS-IV markedly suppressed airway hyperresponsiveness and reduced IL-4, IL-5, and IL-17 levels and increased INF-γ levels in the BALF.

Histological studies showed that AS-IV markedly decreased inflammatory infiltration in the lung tissues.

Notably, AS-IV inhibited mTORC1 activity, whereas it had limited effects on mTORC2, as assessed by phosphorylation of mTORC1 and mTORC2 substrates S6 ribosomal protein, p70 S6 Kinase, and Akt, respectively.

CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in BALF were not significantly changed by AS-IV.

Together, these results suggest that the antiasthmatic effects of AS-IV were at least partially from inhibiting the mTORC1 signaling pathway.