Effects of THH on Th17 cells and related cytokines expression in collagen-induced arthritis mice

ZHOU Xinyi; ZHANG Jie; ZHOU Xueqing; ZENG Wendan; ZHAO Xiangfeng; LUO Naixiang

doi:10.13431/j.cnki.immunol.j.20190059

Abstract：To investigate the immunologic mechanism of Tripterygium hypoglaucum hutch (THH) in treating rheumatoid arthritis, we observed the effect of THH on Th17 cells and cytokines in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice. Ten of thirty healthy male C57 BL/6 mice were randomly selected as normal control group, and the remaining20 mice were used for preparing CIA mouse model, which were subdivided into CIA control group and THH treatment group. The body weight, score of arthritis index, joint swelling degree and HE staining were observed to understand the treatment status of THH; the effect of THH on Th17 cells in spleen and IL-17 A in ankle joint and serum were detected by flow cytometry, real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and ELISA, respectively. GraphPad software was used to analyze the results. Data showed that there was no significant difference in body weight between the CIA control group and the THH treatment group. The score of arthritis index and the degree of joint swelling in the CIA control group were higher than those in the THH treatment group. HE staining showed that the inflammationand the bone damage in the THH treatment group was less than those in the CIA control group. The proportion of Th17 cells in spleen of CIA control group was lower than thsoe in normal control group (P<0.01) and THH treatment group (P<0.05). The mRNA and protein expression levels of IL-17 A in the ankle jointsand serum of CIA control group were significantly higher than that in normal control group (P<0.01) and THH treatment (P<0.05). In conclusion, THH can relieve the inflammatory reaction of arthritis and reduce joint bone damage by increasing proportion of Th17 cell in peripheral immune organ and decreasing the expression of IL-17 A in joint tissue and serum.