Astragaloside IV attenuates pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy by regulating PGC-1 α signaling mediated energy biosynthesis

We previously reported that Astragaloside IV (AsIV) extracted from Chinese medicine Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch) Bge, could attenuate hypertrophy induced by isoproterenol. The present study was designed to investigate the effects and the possible mechanism of AsIV on pressure overload induced-hypertrophy in rats with focus on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α) signaling mediated energy biosynthesis. Pressure overload induced-cardiac hypertrophy model was established by abdominal aortic constriction (AAC), and AsIV was administrated one day before surgical procedure and continued for 15 days post surgery. The results showed that administration of AsIV attenuated the pathological changes, reduced the ratios of heart weight/body weight (HW/BW) and left ventricular weight/body weight (LVW/BW), improved the cardiac hemodynamics, downregulated mRNA expressions of ANP and BNP, increased the total content of ATP+ADP+AMP, decreased the content of free fatty acid (FFA) and lactic acid (LA), and increased the mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in heart tissue. In addition, pretreatment with AsIV significantly increased the protein expressions of PGC-1α, pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 (PDK4) and carnitine palmityl transferase 1 (CPT-1). The results suggested that AsIV attenuates pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy through regulating PGC-1α signaling mediated energy biosynthesis.