https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2024.4098
Astragaloside IV augments anti-PD-1 therapy to suppress tumor growth in lung cancer by remodeling the tumor microenvironment
Submitted: 30 June 2024
Accepted: 22 August 2024
Published: 23 October 2024
Accepted: 22 August 2024
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All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
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Programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) inhibitors are increasingly utilized in the treatment of lung cancer (LC). Combination therapy has recently gained popularity in treating LC. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of combining Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) and anti-PD-1 in LC. C57BL/6J mice were subcutaneously injected with Lewis lung carcinoma (LLC) cells. After 3 weeks, the animals were sacrificed, and the tumors were harvested for analysis. Ki-67 immuno-labeling and TUNEL assay were used for evaluating cell proliferation and apoptosis in tumor tissues. In addition, anti-cleaved caspase 3 was used for immunolabelling of apoptotic cells. Immune cell infiltration (macrophages and T cells) and gene expression in tumor tissues were also investigated by using immunofluorescence staining. Compared to treatment with anti-PD-1 or AS-IV, the combination of AS-IV and anti-PD-1 notably reduced tumor volume and weight of LLC-bearing mice. Additionally, the combination treatment strongly induced the apoptosis and suppressed the proliferation in tumor tissues through inactivating PI3K/Akt and ERK signaling pathways, compared to single treatment group. Moreover, the combination treatment elevated levels of the M1 macrophage marker mCD86, reduced levels of the M2 macrophage marker mCD206, as well as upregulated levels of the T cell activation marker mCD69 in tumor tissues. Collectively, the combination treatment effectively inhibited tumor growth in LLC mice through promoting M1 macrophage polarization and T cell activation. These findings showed that combining AS-IV with anti-PD-1 therapy could be a promising therapeutic approach for LC.
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Ethics Approval
all animal studies were approved by The First Affiliated Hospital of Hunan University of Traditional Chinese MedicineSupporting Agencies
Key Research Office of Traditional Chinese Medicine Lung DiseaseHow to Cite
Wu, T., Wu, S., Gao, H., Liu, H., Feng, J., & Yin, G. (2024). Astragaloside IV augments anti-PD-1 therapy to suppress tumor growth in lung cancer by remodeling the tumor microenvironment. European Journal of Histochemistry, 68(4). https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2024.4098
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