title: Astragalus Polysaccharide Protects Astrocytes from Being Infected by HSV-1 through TLR3/NF-κB Signaling Pathway.
abstract: Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) is the most immunoreactive substance in Astragalus. APS can regulate the body's immunity and is widely used in many immune related diseases. However, till now, there is little information about its contribution to the protection of astrocytes infected by virus. Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) is a key component of the innate immune system and has the ability to detect virus infection and trigger host defence responses. This study was undertaken to elucidate the protective effect of APS on herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) infected astrocytes and the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that APS protected the astrocytes from HSV-1 induced proliferation inhibition along with increasing expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) markedly. Moreover, APS significantly promoted the expression of Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) and the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) in astrocytes. In addition, while astrocytes were pretreated with TLR3 antibody before adding HSV-1 and APS, the expression of TLR3, TNF-α, and IL-6 and the activation of NF-κB decreased sharply. These results indicate that APS can protect astrocytes by promoting immunological function provoked by HSV-1 through TLR3/NF-κB pathway.
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Weifang Medical University, 7166 Baotong West Street, Weifang 261053, China.
authors: Lihong
authors: L
authors: Shi
authors: Hospital of Weifang Medical University, 7166 Baotong West Street, Weifang 261053, China.
authors: Fengling
authors: F
authors: Yin
authors: The Affiliated Hospital of Shandong Traditional Chinese Medicine Junior College, 508 Binhai East Road, Yantai 264199, China.
authors: Xiangui
authors: X
authors: Xin
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Weifang Medical University, 7166 Baotong West Street, Weifang 261053, China.
authors: Shumei
authors: S
authors: Mao
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Weifang Medical University, 7166 Baotong West Street, Weifang 261053, China.
authors: Pingping
authors: P
authors: Hu
authors: Department of Pharmacology, Weifang Medical University, 7166 Baotong West Street, Weifang 261053, China.
authors: Chunzhen
authors: C
authors: Zhao
authors: Department of Parasitology, Weifang Medical University, 7166 Baotong West Street, Weifang 261053, China.
authors: Xiuning
authors: X
authors: Sun