title: Protective effect of taraxasterol against rheumatoid arthritis by the modulation of inflammatory responses in mice.
abstract: Taraxasterol is an effective component of dandelion that has anti-inflammatory effectsin vivoandin vitro. The present study was performed to explore whether taraxasterol exhibits a protective effect against rheumatoid arthritis through the modulation of inflammatory responses in mice. Eight-week-old CCR9-deficient mice were injected with a collagen II monoclonal antibody cocktail to create a rheumatoid arthritis model. In the experimental group, arthritic model mice were treated with 10 mg/kg taraxasterol once per day for 5 days. Treatment with taraxasterol significantly increased the pain thresholds and reduced the clinical arthritic scores of the mice in the experimental group compared with those of the model group. Furthermore, treatment with taraxasterol significantly suppressed tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and nuclear factor-κB protein expression levels compared with those in the rheumatoid arthritis model mice. Taraxasterol treatment also significantly reduced nitric oxide, prostaglandin E2 and cyclooxygenase-2 levels compared with those in the rheumatoid arthritis model group. These observations indicate that the protective effect of taraxasterol against rheumatoid arthritis is mediated via the modulation of inflammatory responses in mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatism, Hebei Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Cangzhou, Hebei 061000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shu-Hua
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatism, Hebei Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Cangzhou, Hebei 061000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Li-Feng
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Ping
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatism, Hebei Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Cangzhou, Hebei 061000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Feng-Yan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatism, Hebei Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Cangzhou, Hebei 061000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Lei
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatism, Hebei Cangzhou Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine, Cangzhou, Hebei 061000, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Juan
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: cyclooxygenase-2; inflammatory; nitric oxide; prostaglandin E2; rheumatoid arthritis; taraxasterol