Objective To investigate the effects of astragalus polysaccharides on radio-pulmonary lesion.Methods 48 Wistar rats were divided into normal group, model group, astragalus polysaccharides treated group and dexamethasone treated group, each had 12 rats.Models of radio-pulmonary lesion of rats in later three groups were established by whole-thorax irradiation 20 Gy, then normal group was pretending to irradiation.Rats in normal group and model group were given 0.9% NaCl, astragalus polysaccharides treated group and dexamethasone treated group were given astragalus polysaccharides(8mg/mL) and dexamethasone(0.05mg/mL), accordingly.All rats were with 8 weeks, at 2 w and 8 w post-injury, 6 rats in each group were selected randomly and anesthesia to death.The erythrocytes and leukocytes in blood and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid ( BALF) in each group were detected and histological examination of lung tissues were performed by Haematoxylin and Eosin staining to study general morphology.Results Radiation-induced lung injury rat model were successfully constructed, general observation showed that irradiated rats gradually appear listlessness, reduce the volume of activities, arched, hair removal and other symptoms, astragalus polysaccharide (APS) and dexamethasone treated rats had gradual improvement than model group.Compared with control group, erythrocytes and leukocytes counts in serum of model group at 2 w and 8 w post-injury were significantly decreased(P <0.05), the numbers of erythrocytes and leukocytes in BALF were significantly increased(P <0.05). Compared with model group group, the leukocytes, erythrocytes and neutrophils counts in serum of astragalus polysaccharides treated group and dexamethasone treated group were all increased(P <0.05), respectively, and the number of leukocytes and erythrocytes in BLAF were significantly decreased(P<0.05).All the indexes between two groups had no significant difference.The pathological changes of lung tissues showed that rats in model group had rupture alveolar wall, widened alveolar interval, pulmonary interstitial hyperplasia, and the alveolar space and interstitial lung stroma had a large number of inflammatory cells exudation.The symptoms in astragalus polysaccharides treated group and dexamethasone treated group were all alleviated, and there was no significant difference between the two groups.Conclusion Astragalus polysaccharides have therapeutic effect on radio-pulmonary lesion in rats, and the therapeutic effects of astragalus polysaccharides are roughly similar to dexamethasone.Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism behind the effects of astragalus polysaccharides in order to develop appropriate treatment.

Objective To observe the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) Qingshen granule on signal transduction pathway of fokal adhesion kinase-rat sarcoma-mitogen activated protein kinase (FAK-Ras-MAPK) in renal tissue of rats with renal interstitial fibrosis (RIF). Methods Forty Spargue-Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into normal control, model, Bailing capsule and Qingshen granule groups (each, n = 10). The rat model with RIF was reproduced by unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) or ligation method. The rats in Bailing capsule group were treated with Bailing capsule dissolved in 4 mL warm water, and the dosage was 0.3 g·kg-1·d-1 for intragastric administration;the rats in Qingshen granule group were treated with Qingshen granule dissolved in 4 mL warm water, its dosage was 6 g·kg-1·d-1 for intragastric administration, and equal volume of normal saline was given to normal control group and model group by gavage. After treatment for 8 weeks, the levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN), serum creatinine (SCr), fibronectin (FN),α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) were determined in each groups. The renal tissue expression levels of FAK, Ras, p38MAPK, FN, α-SMA were determined in various groups by immunohistochemistry staining method. Results Compared with the normal control group, the levels of serum BUN, SCr, FN and α-SMA were significantly increased in the model group. There were no significant differences in the levels of serum BUN and SCr before administration of drugs between Bailing capsule group and Qingshen granule group (both P>0.05). The levels of BUN, SCr, FN, andα-SMA were all significantly lowered in the two treatment groups than those of the model group after administration, the descent in Qingshen granule group being more marked [BUN (mmol/L):13.18±4.91 vs. 18.56±5.59, SCr (μmol/L): 104.80±12.04 vs. 119.02±12.47, FN (mg/L): 29.72±16.75 vs. 46.38±8.63, α-SMA (kU/L):5.49±2.68 vs. 7.13±2.37, all P < 0.05]. The immunohistochemistry staining showed: the kidney tissue expression levels of FAK, Ras, p38MAPK, FN, and α-SMA in the model group were significantly higher than those of normal control group, above indexes were all significantly lower in Bailing capsule group and Qingshen granule group than those of the model group, and the descent in Qingshen granule group was more obvious (FAK: 3.00±1.41 vs. 5.28±2.21, FN: 4.25±1.04 vs. 6.29±2.06, α-SMA: 3.25±1.28 vs. 4.86±1.57, p38MAPK: 2.50±1.31 vs. 4.71±2.50, Ras:3.50±1.41 vs. 4.29±1.38, all P<0.05). Conclusion Qingshen granule can reduce serum BUN and SCr levels in rats with RIF, and inhibit the activation of FAK-Ras-MAPK signal transduction pathway in the kidney, thereby it may reduce the generation of FN andα-SMA and play a role of anti-RIF.