Berberine ameliorates bone erosions in collagen-induced arthritis rat models via suppressing the expression of IL-17A
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AbstractBackground: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic progressive disease characterised by synovial inflammation, autoantibody production, cartilage and bone destruction. Bone erosions are a key feature of RA reflecting both disease severity and disease progression. An imbalance between Th17 and regulatory T cells (Treg cells) has been extensively recognised in both patients and model animals of RA. Oral administration of berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid, has been showed to ameliorate various symptoms of autoimmune diseases including RA.

Objectives: To verify whether berberine may prevent bone erosions during RA progression and to explore the potential mechanisms in Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model.

Methods: The severity of arthritis was expressed as mean arthritic index on a 0–4 scale according to the following criteria: 0=no oedema or swelling; 1=slight oedema and erythema limited to the foot and/or ankle; 2=slight oedema and erythema from the ankle to the tarsal bone; 3=moderate oedema and erythema from the ankle to the tarsal bone; and 4=severe oedema and erythema from the ankle to the entire leg. Each limb was graded, and thus the maximum possible score was 16 for each animal. The threshold score of rats with established CIA is 2. The CIA rats were divided into 3 groups: placebo group (n=4), low dose berberine group (50 mg/kg/day, n=4) and high dose berberine group (200 mg/kg/day, n=4). Placebo and berberine were intragastrically administered to all rats for 4 and 8 weeks after the CIA models were established. TNF-a, IL-1b, IL-6, IL-17A, and IgG in the serum were measured by ELISA kits (purchased from Abcam). The hind paws of rats were scanned by micro CT (Scanco, Switzerland).

Results: The thickness of the swollen hind paws was reduced in the high dose berberine group (200 mg/kg/day) compared with the placebo group (Fig A). No significant differences were observed in the levels of TNF-a, IL-1b, and IL-6 between the three groups. However, the levels of IL-17A and IgG were significantly decreased in the high dose berberine group when compared with the placebo group (Fig A). Micro CT data revealed that berberine could significantly improve the microstructure of CIA rats including the bone volume ratio (BV/TV), areal bone mineral density (aBMD) and trabecular separation (Tb Sp) (Fig B and C). Development of bone erosion had also been partially prevented.
All Author(s) ListJ. Yue, J. Xu, H. Li, J. Wang, N. Zheng, H. Yao, L.-S. Tam, L. Qin
Name of ConferenceAnnual European Congress of Rheumatology
Start Date of Conference13/06/2018
End Date of Conference16/06/2018
Place of ConferenceAmsterdam
Country/Region of ConferenceNetherlands
Proceedings TitleAnnals of the Rheumatic Diseases - Annual European Congress of Rheumatology
Year2018
Month6
Volume Number77
Issue NumberSupplement 2
PublisherBMJ
LanguagesEnglish-United Kingdom

Last updated on 2024-19-08 at 00:08