Abstract:
Aim
To investigate the effects of Yishen Juanbi (YJB) on rheumatoid arthritis (RA), using Freund's
complete induced adjuvant arthritis (AA) in rat model.
Methods
AA was evaluated by measuring paw swelling and rats' secondary organ indexes. The level of
serum tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-a), interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in
rats were further measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Also, total nitric
oxide synthase (tNOS) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) were assayed in serum using
nitric oxide synthase kits by spectrophotometry. Antiapoptotic Bcl-2 was examined by Western
blot.
Result
The administration of YJB significantly inhibited the swelling of the adjuvant-non-injected
footpad of AA rats while without significant effect on rats' secondary organ indexes. YJB
significantly decreased the production of serum TNF-a, IL-1ß, IL-6, iNOS and over-production
of Bcl-2 expression in synovium.
Conclusion
YJB possesses anti-rheumatic activity by modulating the main anti-inflammatory factors while
down-regulating antiapoptotic Bcl-2 in AA.
