Astragaloside IV ameliorates preeclampsia-induced oxidative stress. - GreenMedInfo Summary

Preeclampsia (PE) can cause serious health problems for pregnant women and their infants. Astragaloside IV has been shown to exert cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, and anti-oxidative effects on various disorders. We aimed to study the effects of Astragaloside IV on PE symptoms using an NG-Nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME)-induced rat model of PE. The pregnant rats' physiological features, including blood pressure, urine protein, serum sFlt-1/PIGF ratio, and weight of placenta, as well as the weight, length, and survival of pups, were documented. The expression levels of target genes were analyzed by western blot assay and qRT-PCR assay. The levels of target secreted proteins were determined by ELISA assay. We demonstrated that the administration of Astragaloside IV might exert a multitude of beneficial effects on attenuated PE symptoms in a rat model of PE. We further revealed that the effects of Astragaloside IV on PE rats were achieved at least partially through elimination of oxidative stress and stimulation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2)/ heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) signaling pathway. Our study indicated that Astragaloside IV may serve as a promising candidate for the development of new therapeutically methods for patients with PE.