ABSTRACT
ObjectiveTo observe the effects of Huanglian Jiedutang on pathological and immune damage in collagen-induced arthritis （CIA） model mice， and to explore the possible mechanism of Huanglian Jiedutang in relieving rheumatoid arthritis. MethodTwenty-four DBA/1 mice were randomly divided into normal group， model group， methotrexate group and Huanglian Jiedutang group， with six mice in each group. The CIA mice model were established using type Ⅱ collagen induction. The administration groups were respectively treated with Huanglian Jiedutang （5 g·kg-1） and methotrexate （0.5 mg·kg-1）. The joint swelling symptoms of the mice were observed， and the arthritis index was scored every 3 days. Flow cytometry was employed to detect granulocytes， monocytes， and T lymphocytes in peripheral blood. The expression of inflammatory cytokines in joint was determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction （Real-time PCR）. The ankle joint was scanned by micro-computed tomography （Micro-CT）， and the histopathological changes were observed through hematoxylin-eosin （HE） staining. ResultCompared with the normal group， the modeling led to joint swelling， elevated the joint index score （P<0.05）， increased the proportion of granulocytes （P<0.05） and decreased that of monocytes and T lymphocytes （P<0.01） in peripheral blood， and raised the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio （NLR） （P<0.01）. Further， it up-regulated the expression of inflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， interleukin （IL）-1β， and IL-6 in joint （P<0.01）. Micro-CT showed obvious bone destruction in the ankle joint， and pathological examination revealed the infiltration of a large number of inflammatory cells and the synovial hyperplasia of joint tissue. Compared with the model group， Huanglian Jiedutang alleviated the symptoms of joint swelling， lowered the score of arthritis index （P<0.05）， increased the proportion of T lymphocytes and lowered NLR （P<0.01）. Moreover， it down-regulated the expression levels of TNF-α， IL-1β， and IL-6 in joint （P<0.01） and alleviated the bone destruction and pathological injury of joint tissue. ConclusionType Ⅱ collagen caused systemic and local inflammatory immune damage in CIA mice. Huanglian Jiedutang alleviates such injury， especially for that in local joint， thereby inhibiting joint injury and bone destruction in CIA mice.