Effects of astragalus on apoptosis and c-fos,Bcl-2 expression after focal ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats

Objective To explore the effects of astragalus on apoptosis and c-fos,Bcl-2 expression after focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats.Methods Forty male Wistar rats(180-220 g) were randomly divided into astragalus group,4 hours ischemia/1 hour reperfusion group(group I),4 hours ischemia/12 hours reperfusion group(groupⅡ),4 hours ischemia/24 hours reperfusion group(group Ⅲ) and control group.The model of cerebral ischemia-reperfusion in rats were made by a suture-occluded method.The microtome section were given hematoxylin eosin(HE) staining.The expressions of c-fos and Bcl-2 were detected by immunohistochemistry staining.Results HE staining showed that the control group and group I was no significant change in brain cells,and mild edema of brain cells appeared in group Ⅱ,obviously edema appeared in group Ⅲ.The damage area of astragalus group was smaller and edema reduced.Compared with the control group,the positive expression rates of c-fos and Bcl-2 of other four groups were increased(P0.01);the positive expression rates of c-fos and Bcl-2 of astragalus group were lower than those in group Ⅱand group Ⅲ(P0.01).The apoptotic index of group I,groupⅡ,groupⅢ and astragalus group was significantly higher than that of the control group(P0.01);the apoptotic index of astragalus group was significantly lower than that of group Ⅱand group Ⅲ(P0.01).Conclusion Astragalus can inhibit the expression of c-fos and increase the expression of Bcl-2 in cerebral ischemia reperfusion and lessen brain cell apoptosis.