Astragalus membranaceus (A. membranaceus) is a type of traditional Chinese medicine with a long history of clinical application. It is used in the improvement and treatment of various diseases as medicine and food to invigorate the spleen and replenish qi. The main components of A. membranaceus are Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), flavonoids compounds, saponins compounds, alkaloids, etc. APS is the most important natural active component in A. membranaceus, and possesses multiple pharmacological properties. At present, APS possess the huge potential to develop a drug improving or treating different diseases. In this review, we reveal the potential approaches of pretreating and preparation on APS as much as possible and the study on content of APS and its chemical composition including different monosaccharides. More importantly, this paper summarize pharmacological actions on immune regulation, such as enhancing the immune organ index, promoting the proliferation of immune cells, stimulating the release of cytokines, and affecting the secretion of immunoglobulin and conduction of immune signals; anti-aging; anti-tumor by enhancing immunity, inducing apoptosis of tumor cells and inhibiting the proliferation and transfer of tumor cells; antiviral effects; regulation of blood glucose such as type I diabetes mellitus, type II diabetes mellitus and diabetic complications; lipid-lowering; anti-fibrosis; antimicrobial activities and anti-radiation. It provided theoretical basis for the further research such as its structure and mechanism of action, and clinical application of APS.

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BackgroundThis study investigated the effect of Astragalus polysaccharides (APS) on radiation-induced bystander effects (RIBE) in human bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) induced by irradiated A549 cells.Material/MethodsA549 cells were irradiated with 2 Gy X-rays to obtain conditioned medium. BMSCs were incubated with the conditioned medium or APS. The levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and TGF-β were detected by ELISA. Cell survival, genomic instability, and DNA damages were detected by CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay, the micronucleus test and immunofluorescence assay, respectively. The protein and phosphorylation protein expression of p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular regulated protein kinase (ERK1/2), P65, and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in bystander effect cells were detected by Western blot.ResultsThe expression of COX-2 and ROS increased following stimulation with conditioned medium; this effect was inhibited by pre-exposing the cells to APS. BMSCs growth and colony formation rate decreased following stimulation with conditioned medium; this effect was suppressed by pre-exposing the cells to APS. In addition, the micronucleus rate and 53BP1 foci number increased after treatment with conditioned medium; this increase in BMSCs was inhibited by APS. The levels of phosphorylated p38, JNK, ERK1/2, NF-κB P65, and COX-2 proteins were increased by conditioned medium but were decreased by pre-treatment with APS.ConclusionsRIBE in BMSCs induced by the irradiated A549 was mediated by the ROS in the conditioned medium and might be related to MAPK/NF-κB signal pathways in BMSCs. APS may block RIBE through regulating the MAPK/NF-κB pathway.

Background The tumor microenvironment in lung cancer plays an important role in tumor progression and metastasis. Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) co-cultured with A549 lung cancer cells show changes in morphology, increase cell proliferation, and cell migration. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS), a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, on the changes induced in bone marrow-derived MSCs by A549 lung cancer cells in vitro . Material/Methods Bone marrow-derived MSCs were co-cultured with A549 cells (Co-BMSCs). Co-cultured bone marrow-derived MSCs and A549 cells treated with 50 μg/ml of APS (Co-BMSCs + APS) were compared with untreated Co-BMSCs. Cell proliferation was measured using the cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Flow cytometry evaluated the cell cycle. Microarray assays for mRNA expression and Western blot for protein expression were used. Results Compared with untreated Co-BMSCs, APS treatment of Co-BMSCs improved cell morphology, reduced cell proliferation, and inhibited cell cycle arrest. The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)/nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, TP53, caspase-3, acetylated H4K5, acetylated H4K8, and acetylated H3K9 were involved in the regulatory process. Conclusions APS treatment reduced cell proliferation and morphological changes in bone marrow-derived MSCs that were co-cultured with A549 lung cancer cells in vitro .

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