ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the mechanism of apeptosis in rheumatoid arthritis synoviocyte induced by dihydroartemisinin. Methods Synovial tissues were cut from rheumatoid arthritis patients when who was under knee prosthesis. Apoptosis was detected with flow cytometry. Western blot was performed to assess ser473-phosphorylated Akt. EMSA (electrophoretic mobility shift assay) was used to ana-lyze NF-κB activation. Results Dihydroartemisin can induce apoptosis in rheumatoid arthritis synoviocyte in a dose-dependent manor from 2.5μmol/L to 10μmol/L. Rheumatoid Arthritis synoviocyte cultured with dihydroartemisinin in 5μmol/L or 10μmoL/L can significantly in-hibit serine 473 phosphorylation in Akt and activation of NF-κB. Conclusion Dihydroartemisinin can induce apoptosis in rheumatoid arthri-tis synoviocyte through Akt signal pathway.