Protective effects of astragaloside IV against hypertension-induced vascular remodeling involves the DNMT1 and TET2 signaling pathway

Proliferation, migration, and the phenotypic switch of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) play an important role in vascular remodeling induced by hypertension. Astragaloside IV (AS-IV), the active ingredient of Astragalus membranaceus, has been shown to exert a beneficial role in cardiovascular disease. The present study aimed to investigate the mechanism responsible for the protective effects of AS-IV on hypertension-induced vascular remodeling. AS-IV significantly reduced blood pressure and aortic media thickness in two-kidney, one-clip (2K1C) hypertensive rats. AS-IV administration downregulated the expression levels of DNA methyltransferase1 (DNMT1), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP2) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and upregulated the expression of smooth muscle 22? protein (SM22?), ?-smooth muscle actin (ACTA2) and ten-eleven translocation 2 (TET2) in the aorta of hypertensive rats. AS-IV inhibited the proliferation and migration in VSMCs treated with angiotensin II (Ang II). AS-IV increased the expression of SM22?, ACTA2 and TET2, and decreased the expression of collagen Ia (COL-1a), collagen IIIa (COL-3a), DNMT1, MMP2 and PCNA in vitro. Reduction in 5-methylcytosine (5-mC) was observed in VSMCs treated with AS-IV. Knockdown of DNMT1 induced the expression of TET2, while the level of DNMT1 did not change after knockdown of TET2. These results suggest that AS-IV reversed hypertension-induced vascular remodeling by inhibiting DNMT1 and upregulating TET2.