Qian,Weibin, Cai,Xinrui, Qian,Qiuhai, Zhuang,Qianzhu, Yang,Wenjun, Zhang,Xinying, and Zhao,Lijie
Weibin Qian,1,2,* Xinrui Cai,2,3 Qiuhai Qian,4,* Qianzhu Zhuang,5 Wenjun Yang,4 Xinying Zhang,4 Lijie Zhao61Department of Lung Disease, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250011, People’s Republic of China; 2Postdoctoral Station, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong Academy of Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine, Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Academy of Medical Sciences, Jinan, Shandong 250062, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Endocrinology, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250011, People’s Republic of China; 5Academic Department, China Association of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100029, People’s Republic of China; 6Preventive Treatment Department, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250001, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workPurpose: Functional impairment of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) is frequently observed in patients with diabetic vascular complications. Astragaloside IV (ASV) has a significant protective effect against vascular endothelial dysfunction. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the role of ASV on oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced EPCs dysfunction and its potential mechanisms.Methods: EPCs were isolated from the peripheral blood of mice and treated with different concentration of ASV (10, 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 200 μM). ox-LDL was served as a stimulus for cell model. The proliferation and migration, and improved tube formation ability of EPCs were determined. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the levels of inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin 1β (IL-1β), IL-6, IL-10 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) were measured. The expression oflectin-like oxidized LDL receptor (LOX-1) andNod-like receptor nucleotide-binding domain leucine rich repeat containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome were detected by Western blot analysis.Results: We found ASV treatment alleviated ox-LDL-induced cellular dysfunction, as evidenced by promoted proliferation and migration, and improved tube formation ability. Besides, ASV treatment significantly suppressed ox-LDL-induced ROS production and the levels of inflammatory cytokines. ASV inhibited ox-LDL-induced expression of LOX-1 in a concentration-dependent manner. Overexpression of LOX-1 in EPCs triggered NLRP3inflammasome activation, while inhibition of LOX-1 or treatment with ASV suppressed ox-LDL-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Furthermore, overexpression of LOX-1 in ox-LDL-induced EPCs furtherly impaired cellular function, which could be ameliorated by ASV treatment.Conclusion: Our study showed that ASV may protect EPCs against ox-LDL-induced dysfunction via LOX-1/NLRP3 pathway.Keywords: endothelial progenitor cells, astragaloside IV, lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor, NLRP3 inflammasome