Astragaloside IV (AST) as the main active ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus. Clinical and laboratory-based studies have demonstrated the effects of AST on cerebral protection and angiogenesis after ischemia stroke. In addition, several reports investigated the effect of AST on proliferation of neural stem cells. The current study was aimed to evaluate the influence of AST on neurogenesis in hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) of MCAO rats and to explore the possible mechanisms. In this study, the neurobehavioral tests (Ludmila Belayev 12-point scoring, Screen test, fore limb placing test) had been employed to investigate the effect of AST treatment against functional deficit of MCAO rats. The immunofluorescence staining, western-blot and qRT-PCR was performed to evaluate the effects of AST on proliferation, differentiation and maturity of neural stemr cells in hippocampus. Moreover, we investigated the possible mechanism of the AST treatment in promoting neurogenesis after ischemic stroke. The findings indicated that AST treatment ameliorated the neurobehavior of MCAO rats. The results indicated that AST treatment possessed the potential to improve proprioceptive sense and motor function of MCAO rats. AST treatment sustained neuronal viability and stimulates sensorimotor integration functional recovery in MCAO rats. The results suggested that AST improved neurobehavior deficit after ischemic stroke. Furthermore, AST promoted neurogenesis through upregulating the expressing of BNDF/TrkB signaling pathway. Therefore AST might be a promising therapeutic agent for ischemic stroke.

Keywords: Astragaloside IV; Hippocampus; Ischemic stroke; Neurogenesis.