Anti-inflammatory effects of Clematis chinensis Osbeck extract(AR-6) may be associated with NF-κB, TNF-α, and COX-2 in collagen-induced arthritis in rat

Rheumatol Int. 2012 Oct;32(10):3119-25. doi: 10.1007/s00296-011-2083-8. Epub 2011 Sep 20.

Abstract

The root of Clematis chinensis Osbeck has been used widely in rheumatoid arthritis in Chinese traditional medicine, and AR-6 is a triterpene saponin isolated from it. In this present study, we investigated the in vivo effects of oral AR-6 in chronic rat with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) and possible molecular mechanism. CIA was induced by immunizing 56 female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats with chicken typeIIcollagen (CII). Following eighteen days, the immunization rats with CIA were treated with AR-6 (32, 16, 8 mg/kg), cyclophosphamide (7 mg/kg), and TGP (Total Glucosides of Paeonia) (180 mg/kg) for 7 days, and rats without CIA were given the same volume of purified water. TNF-α and IL-1β levels in peripheral blood will be measured by ELISA, and Western blot analysis will be used to detect the expression of NF-κB p65 subunits, TNF-α and COX-2, in synovial membrane. We found that therapeutic treatment with AR-6 markedly improves the paw swelling and histopathological changes. Moreover, the serum levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β were markedly lowered, and the expression of NF-κB p65 subunits, TNF-α and COX-2, in the synovial membrane of CIA rats was significantly inhibited in the AR-6-treated groups. These results enable to prove that AR-6 has a potential anti-inflammatory effect in CIA rats, and its mechanism may relate to the inhibition of the expression of NF-κB p65 subunits, TNF-α and COX-2.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / isolation & purification
  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents / pharmacology*
  • Arthritis, Experimental / blood
  • Arthritis, Experimental / chemically induced
  • Arthritis, Experimental / drug therapy*
  • Arthritis, Experimental / enzymology
  • Arthritis, Experimental / immunology
  • Blotting, Western
  • Clematis* / chemistry
  • Collagen Type II
  • Cyclooxygenase 2 / metabolism*
  • Cyclophosphamide / pharmacology
  • Down-Regulation
  • Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
  • Female
  • Glucosides / pharmacology
  • Inflammation Mediators / blood
  • Inflammation Mediators / metabolism*
  • Interleukin-1beta / blood
  • Paeonia
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology*
  • Plant Roots
  • Plants, Medicinal
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Synovial Membrane / drug effects*
  • Synovial Membrane / enzymology
  • Synovial Membrane / immunology
  • Time Factors
  • Transcription Factor RelA / metabolism*
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / blood
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / metabolism*

Substances

  • Anti-Inflammatory Agents
  • Collagen Type II
  • Glucosides
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • Interleukin-1beta
  • Plant Extracts
  • Rela protein, rat
  • Transcription Factor RelA
  • Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
  • Cyclophosphamide
  • Cyclooxygenase 2
  • Ptgs2 protein, rat