Background: As a medical component in Astragalus(AR) ，Calycosin-7- O -β-D-glucoside（CG）defends ischemia/reperfusion(I/R) injury in cerebral ischemia due to its anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. However, whether CG can facilitate I/R injury by stimulating neuroregeneration and its specific mechanism is remained to be elucidated.
Methods: In this study, an animal model of ischemic stroke was established by middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). Seven days after CG, triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining was performed to examine the ischemic volume, accompanied by behavioral tests to assess neurological function. Nissl staining and Bielschowsky’s silver staining were used to observe nerve cell damage and axonal loss, while immunofluorescence was used to evaluate axonal regeneration.
Results: The expression of proteins associated with the Rho/ROCK pathway was detected by using western blot (WB) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). We showed that CG significantly reduced ischemic volume, facilitated axonal regeneration, improved neurological function, and regulated expression of RGMa, Rho, ROCK, and CRMP2.
Conclusions: Our results suggested that CG promotes axonal regeneration by limiting activation of the Rho/ROCK pathway to promote recovery after cerebral ischemia.