Astragaloside IV Inhibits the Inflammatory Injury of Chicken Type II Pneumocytes Induced by Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli.

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) induces septicemia in chickens by invading type II pneumocytes after breaching the blood-air barrier. Type II pneumocytes play an important role in maintaining the function of the blood-air barrier. Astragaloside IV has been shown in previous studies to have an anti-inflammatory effect. To explore whether astragaloside IV can inhibit APEC-induced injury in chicken type II pneumocytes, cells were infected with APEC-O78. The results showed that astragaloside IV significantly reduced cell damage in chicken type II pneumocytes induced by APEC-O78 by downregulating the production of TNF-α and IL-1β, upregulating the secretion of IL-4 and IL-10, suppressing the mRNA levels of TLR-4, TLR-5, ERK, and p38 of chicken type II pneumocytes as well as inhibiting bacterial adhesion and F-actin cytoskeleton polymerization. These results suggest that astragaloside IV may be useful in novel pharmaco-therapeutic approaches to the treatment of chicken colibacillosis.