Effects Of Compound Rhubarb Powderin On Expression Of TNF-A, IL-10, Rankl And OPG In Rheumatoid Arthritis Rats

ObjectiveTo observe the therapeutic effect of traditional chinese medicinecompound rhubarb powder (CRP) in rheumatoid arthritis(RA) rats and theeffects on tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha),interleukin10(IL-10),receptor activator of NF-κB ligand(RANKL) and osteoproteger(OPG).And to investigate the potential mechanism of CRP in RA rats.MethodThe72rats were randomly divided into6groups, such as normalgroup,model group,voltaren group,methotrexate group,CRPgroup,combined group(methotrexate+CRP group).In addition to the normalgroup,the RA model was induced by complete freund’s adjuvant(CFA).After8days of modeling,each treatment group began to treatrespectively.The swelling degree of rat right rear foot was measurementedby plantar circumference before inflammatory and after one，two,four andsix weeks of inflammatory in each group.After six weeks treatment, theexpressions of TNF-α,IL-10,RANKL and OPG in blood serum were detected by Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays(ELISA);Theexpressions of TNF-α and IL-10in right ankle joint were detected byImmunohistochemistry(IHC);The morphology of right ankle synovialmembrane and articular cartilage in each group were observed under lightmicroscopy.ResultModel group rats were swelling significantly in the right rear foot.Itmoved less and limpted.The right foot joint swelling degree,pathology ofintegral,TNF-α level in blood serum and right ankle were all significantlyincreased（P<0.05）, IL-10level in blood serum and right ankle were allsignificantly decreased（P<0.05）.And TNF-α are negatively correlated withIL-10.The serum RANKL increased （P<0.05）,but the serum OPGdecrease（dP<0.05）,and RANKL/OPG ratio increase（dP<0.05）.Synovitis,the hyperplasia of synovium, pannus formation and the destruction ofcartilage and bone were detected by microscope in model group.Synovitis,the hyperplasia of synovium, pannus formation and the destruction ofcartilage and bone were all decreased in each treatment group under lightmicroscope（P<0.05),and there were no significant differences among thefour treated groups（P>0.05）.Compared with model group,the treated ratswere swelling less and moved freely.The right foot joint swellingdegree,pathology of integral,TNF-α level in serum and right ankle were all significantly decreased （P>0.05）,in which voltaren-treated group,methotrexate group and compound rhubarb powder group had no statisticalsignificance（P>0.05）,but combined group decreased mos（tP<0.05）.IL-10level in serum and right ankle were all significantly increased（P<0.05）,inwhich voltaren-treated group, methotrexate group and compound rhubarbpowder group had no statistical significance（P>0.05）,but combinedgroup increased most （P<0.05）.The serum RANKL decreasedsignificantly in each treatment group（P<0.05）,but serum OPG increasedsignificantly（P<0.05）,and RANKL/OPG ratio decreased（P<0.05）.Theserum RANKL, serum OPG and RANKL/OPG ratio had no statisticalsignificance in voltaren-treated group, methotrexate group and compoundrhubarb powder group （P>0.05）,but in combined group serum RANKLdecreased most（P<0.05）, serum OPG increased most（P<0.05）,andRANKL/OPG ratio decreased most（P<0.05）.Conclusion(1)The level of TNF-α was significantly increased in RA rats serumand ankle joint,but the level of IL-10was significantly decreased, andTNF-α are negatively correlated with IL-10.It confirms that TNF-α is oneof the main inflammatory media in RA joint destruction,and IL-10plays animportant role in inhibiting the inflammation in the happen and develop ofRA.BOth TNF-α and IL-10play a role in RA,which may be mediatied by changing the ratio of RANKL/OPG to effect the metabolism of the articularcartilage and bone..(2) CRP can obviously decrease joint inflammation and improve theclinicopathological features of joint synovial and cartilage of RA Rats asvoltaren and methotrexate. The mechanisms of CRP may cut inflammatoryfactors (TNF alpha), increase anti-inflammatory factors (IL-10), so as todecrease RANKL/OPG ratio,and eliminate joint swelling, reduce jointinflammation and protect the jiont.(3) CRP could remove inflammation and swelling and regulatecytokines such as TNF-α and IL-10better than other single drug,whichindicates that it is advantageous to combined Chinese and western medicinefor the treatment of RA.