Acetazolamide ameliorates the severity of collagen-induced arthritis in rats: Involvement of inducing synovial apoptosis and inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

Abstract

We previously revealed that the overexpression of synovial aquaporin 1 (AQP1) aggravated collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in rats via regulating β-catenin signaling. This study was to demonstrate the therapeutic effect of acetazolamide (AZ, an AQP1 inhibitor) on rat CIA and explored its underlying mechanisms. Paw swelling, arthritis index, pathological assessments, and serum levels of collagen type II (Col II) antibody, IL-1β and TNF-α were measured to evaluate the anti-arthritic effect of AZ on rat CIA. Ki67 immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay were performed to reveal the anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects of AZ on synovial cells in vivo. The protein levels of apoptosis-related genes and Wnt/β-catenin pathway key members were detected by western blot. We found that AZ treatment on CIA rats could inhibit paw swelling, reduce arthritis index, alleviate the pathologic changes of ankle joint and decrease the serum levels of Col II antibody, TNF-α and IL-1β. AZ could reduce Ki67 expression and increase apoptosis index in CIA synovial tissues by reducing Bcl-2 protein level, increasing Bax and caspase 3 protein levels and normalizing Bcl-2/Bax ratio. Moreover, AZ could reduce the protein levels of Wnt1, β-catenin, p-GSK-3β (Ser9), c-myc, cyclin D1 and MMP9, while increase GSK-3β protein level in CIA synovial tissues. Importantly, these mentioned effects of AZ (60 mg/kg) on CIA rats could be reversed by the combined use of lithium chloride (LiCl), an activator of Wnt/β-catenin pathway. In short, AZ exerted potent anti-arthritic effects on CIA rats by inducing synovial apoptosis and inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin pathway.

• Authors: Yu-Rong Mu, Li Cai, Meng-Yuan Zhou, Ming-Ming Liu, Zeng Li, Rong Li
• Journal: International immunopharmacology (Int Immunopharmacol) Vol. 90 Pg. 107214 (Jan 2021) ISSN: 1878-1705 [Electronic] Netherlands
• PMID: 33278748 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Antirheumatic Agents
• Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins
• Aqp1 protein, rat
• IL1B protein, rat
• Interleukin-1beta
• Ki-67 Antigen
• MKi67 protein, rat
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
• Aquaporin 1
• Collagen
• Acetazolamide

Topics

• Acetazolamide (pharmacology)
• Animals
• Antirheumatic Agents (pharmacology)
• Apoptosis (drug effects)
• Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins (metabolism)
• Aquaporin 1 (antagonists & inhibitors, metabolism)
• Arthritis, Experimental (chemically induced, drug therapy, metabolism, pathology)
• Cell Proliferation (drug effects)
• Cells, Cultured
• Collagen
• Disease Models, Animal
• Interleukin-1beta (metabolism)
• Ki-67 Antigen (metabolism)
• Male
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Severity of Illness Index
• Synovial Membrane (drug effects, metabolism, pathology)
• Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (metabolism)
• Wnt Signaling Pathway (drug effects)
• Rats