Therapeutic effect of chondroitin sulfate combined with triptolide liposome on arthritic rats / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To compare the therapeutic effects of free triptolide (TP), free triptolide-chondroitin sulfate ( TP-CS-Lips ) , triptolide liposome ( TP-Lips ) and triptolide combined with chondroitin sulfate liposome (TP-CS-Lips) on collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rats. Methods A total of 48 SD SPF rats were select ed in the study, 8 of which were randomly treated as controls and the remained 40 rats were injected with complete Frederik's adjuvant -chicken type II collagen to establish CIA. The 48 rats successfully modeled were randomly divided into five groups; model group, TP group, TP-CS group, TP-Lips group and TP-CS-Lips group. The treatment groups were intraperitoneally injected with corresponding drugs (TP30 jig • kg"1, CS100 mg • kg"1) every day, while the control group and model group were intraperitoneally injected with an equal volume of 0. 9% sodium chloride solution once a day, with a treatment cycle of 28 days. Before administration (0 d) and at 7 d, 14 d, 21 d and 28 d , the body mass index and arthritis index of rats were evaluated; thymus index and splenic index of each group were analyzed. HE staining was used to observe the pathological changes of cartilage. The expressions of inflammatory cytokines IL-1, TNF- and 1L-6 in serum were detected by ELISA. Results Compared with model group, TP-CS-Lips significantly increased the body mass of arthritic rats (P <0. 05) , and the arthri-tis index score was also significantly induced ( P < 0. 05) ; thymus and spleen indexes of rats significantly decreased (P<0. 05) ; pathological injury of cartilage of knee joint was significantly reduced; the IL-l, TNF- and IL-6 levels of serum also significantly decreased (P <0.05). Furthermore, the therapeutic effect of TP-CS-Lips was superior to that of TP, TP-CS and TP- Lips in arthritic rats. Conclusions TP-CS-Lips could significantly enhance the therapeutic effect of CIA, which provides experimental basis for the development of nano-agents for the treatment of arthritis.