Effects of shuangtengbitong tincture on collagen‑induced arthritis in rats.

Abstract

Shuangtengbitong tincture (STBT), a clinical prescription from the Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Affiliated People's Hospital (Fuzhou, China), has been used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) for ~10 years. The aim of the current study was to confirm the anti-RA effect of STBT and to evaluate the potential mechanisms underlying collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats. CIA model Wistar rats were induced with bovine type II collagen. The rats were immunized with CIA and were treated with STBT (0.5 and 2 ml/injection) and votalin (~1 cm/injection) continuously for ~1 month. Following treatment, the pathological sections of CIA rat joints were observed by hematoxylin and eosin staining, expression of toll-like receptor-4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and nuclear transcription factor-κB (NF-κB) were investigated by western blot analysis and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Following treatment, STBT significantly suppressed paw swelling (P<0.05) compared with the model group and increased body weight. STBT also reversed pathological changes, STBT‑treated rats showed a significant improvement of synovial hyperplasia, inflammatory infiltration, and cartilage and bone destruction. The levels of protein and mRNA expression of TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB were markedly suppressed in the synovial tissue of STBT‑ and votalin-treated rats. In addition, STBT showed marked inhibition of the levels of protein and mRNA expression of TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB at an STBT volume ranging between 1 and 4 ml/day, indicating that the inhibition was volume dependent. These results show that STBT inhibits CIA and may be correlated with TLR4, MyD88 and NF-κB expression.

• Authors: Wei Xu, Huang Li, Kedan Chu, Yuqin Zhang, Haiyin Zheng, Mingqing Huang, Xun Zhang, Lidian Chen
• Journal: Molecular medicine reports (Mol Med Rep) Vol. 8 Issue 5 Pg. 1479-85 (Nov 2013) ISSN: 1791-3004 [Electronic] Greece
• PMID: 24065119 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Collagen Type II
• Drugs, Chinese Herbal
• Inflammation Mediators
• Myd88 protein, rat
• Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88
• NF-kappa B
• RNA, Messenger
• Tlr4 protein, rat
• Toll-Like Receptor 4

Topics

• Animals
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Arthritis, Experimental (chemically induced, drug therapy, metabolism)
• Blotting, Western
• Cattle
• Cell Proliferation (drug effects)
• Collagen Type II (toxicity)
• Disease Models, Animal
• Drugs, Chinese Herbal (pharmacology)
• Inflammation Mediators (metabolism)
• Male
• Medicine, Chinese Traditional
• Myeloid Differentiation Factor 88 (genetics, metabolism)
• NF-kappa B (genetics, metabolism)
• Phytotherapy
• RNA, Messenger (genetics)
• Rats
• Rats, Wistar
• Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Synovial Membrane (drug effects, metabolism)
• Toll-Like Receptor 4 (genetics, metabolism)