Astragaloside IV alleviates E. coli-caused peritonitis via upregulation of neutrophil influx to the site of infection

• We examined the role of Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) on acute peritoneal infection induced by E. coli.
• AS-IV accelerates bacterial clearance and reduces the mortality caused by E. coli.
• AS-IV facilitates the expression of CXCR2 and infiltration of neutrophils into the infectious site.
• AS-IV promotes the upregulation of CXCR2 on neutrophils involved in inhibition of GRK2 expression.

Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), an active saponin purified from Astragali Radix, has been identified with broad biological and pharmacological activities. In the present study, we continue to explore the potential effect of AS-IV on antibacterial response using an acute E. coli peritoneal infection model. Our findings implied that administration of AS-IV decreases mortality in mice challenged by lethal E. coli infection. The protection of AS-IV was related to promotion of neutrophil extravasation into the peritoneum and bacterial clearance. Toll-like receptor (TLR) activation in neutrophils has been reported to reduce CXCR2 expression and subsequent neutrophil migration. Our data indicated that AS-IV prevented the reduction of CXCR2 expression and neutrophil migration induced by LPS, the activator for TLR4. Moreover, we found that AS-IV blocks LPS-induced suppression of CXCR2 on neutrophils by inhibiting the expression of G protein-coupled receptor kinase-2 (GRK2), an agonist that regulates desensitization and internalization of chemokine receptors. Taken together, these data propose that AS-IV, through modulating GRK2-CXCR2 signal in neutrophils, offers an essential efficacy on host antibacterial immunity.