Astragalus membranaceus Injection Protects Retinal Ganglion Cells by Regulating the Nerve Growth Factor Signaling Pathway in Experimental Rat Traumatic Optic Neuropathy.

Astragalus membranaceus Injection Protects Retinal Ganglion Cells by Regulating the Nerve Growth Factor Signaling Pathway in Experimental Rat Traumatic Optic Neuropathy. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2020;2020:2429843 Authors: Wu Q, Gu X, Liu X, Yan X, Liao L, Zhou J Abstract Activation of the nerve growth factor (NGF) signaling pathway is a potential method of treatment for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) loss due to traumatic optic neuropathy (TON). The present study aimed to explore the biological effects of injecting Astragalus membranaceus (A. mem) on RGCs in an experimental TON model. Adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham-operated (SL), model (ML), and A. mem injection (AL). The left eyes of the rats were considered the experimental eyes, and the right eyes served as the controls. AL rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of A. mem (3 mL/kg), whereas ML and SL rats were administered the same volume of normal saline. The TON rat model was induced by optic nerve (ON) transverse quantitative traction. After two-week administration, the number of RGCs was determined using retrograde labeling with Fluoro-Gold. The protein levels of NGF, tyrosine kinase receptor A (TrkA), c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK), JNK phosphorylation (p-JNK), and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) were assessed using western blotting. The levels of p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) and NF-κB DNA binding were exam...
Source: Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine - Category: Complementary Medicine Tags: Evid Based Complement Alternat Med Source Type: research