Astragaloside IV attenuates sepsis-induced intestinal barrier dysfunction via suppressing RhoA/NLRP3 inflammasome signaling

Intestinal barrier dysfunction is a trigger for sepsis progression. NLRP3 inflammasome and RhoA contribute to sepsis and intestinal inflammation. The current study aimed to explore the effects of Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), a bioactive compound from Astragalus membranaceus, on sepsis-caused intestinal barrier dysfunction and whether NLRP3 inflammasome and RhoA are involved. Septic mice modeled by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) operation were administered with 3 mg/kg AS-IV intravenously. AS-IV decreased mortality, cytokines release, I-FABP secretion, intestinal histological score and barrier permeability, and increased tight junction (TJ) expression in intestine in CLP model. Also, in Caco-2 cells subjected to lipopolysaccharide (LPS), 200 μg/mL AS-IV co-incubation reduced cytokines levels and enhanced in vitro gut barrier function without cytotoxicity. Subsequently, NLRP3 inflammasome and RhoA were highly activated both in intestinal tissue in vivo and in Caco-2 cells in vitro, both of which were significantly suppressed by AS-IV treatment. In addition, the benefits of AS-IV on Caco-2 monolayer barrier were largely counteracted by RhoA agonist CN03 and NLRP3 gene overexpression, respectively. Furthermore, LPS-induced NLRP3 inflammasome activation was abrogated by RhoA inhibitor C3 exoenzyme. However, NLRP3 knockdown by siRNA hardly affected RhoA activation in Caco-2 cells. These data suggest that AS-IV protects intestinal epithelium from sepsis-induced barrier dysfunction via inhibiting RhoA/NLRP3 inflammasome signal pathway.