Abstract:

AIM: To study the preventive effect and mechanism of total saponins of Achyranthes (TSA) on acute gouty arthritis (AGA) in rats. METHODS: Male SD rats were randomly divided into the normal group, model group, TSA high, medium and low dose group (200, 60, 20 mg·kg-1·d-1) and indomethacin group (5 mg·kg-1·d-1).All groups received oral administration, 2 times a day, for 5 consecutive days.Uric acid sodium solution was injected into the rat ankle joint cavity on the third day except the normal group to determine the degree of rat joint swelling. The rats were sacrificed at 48 hours after the injection to detect the IL-1β, IL-18 and IL-6 levels in rat joint swelling leaching solution, and ankle pathology was performed thereafter. The expression of IL-1β protein in the ankle joint of rats was detected by immunohistochemistry. The levels of NALP3 (NACHT, LRR and PYD domains-containing protein 3) and inflammatory related proteins were detected by Western blot. RESULTS: Compared with the normal group, the rats in the model group were significantly swollen, less active. Synovial tissue hyperplasia and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in synovial joints, the expression of IL-1β protein increased.The levels of IL-1β, IL-18 and IL-6 in synovial fluid, and the NALP3, ASC, pro-caspase-1 and cleaved caspase-1 in synovial tissue were increased significantly. The above indexes in the high and middle dose group and the indomethacin group were improved to different degree. CONCLUSION: TSA has an obvious preventive and therapeutic effect on AGA, and the mechanism may be related with suppressing the NALP3 inflammasome activation and inhibiting the cytokines production.

Key words: total saponin Achyranthes, acute gouty arthritis, preventive effect, mechanism