This study aims to investigate the anti-arthritis effects and mechanisms of total triterpenoids from the fruits of Chaenomeles speciosa(TCS) on MH7A cells treated with lipopolysaccharide(LPS) and adenosine triphosphate(ATP) as well as the rat model of adjuvant arthritis(AA) induced by Freund's complete adjuvant(CFA). In the cell experiment, the MTT assay and Transwell assay were employed to test cell viability and migration, respectively; the colorimetric method and ELISA were employed to determine the levels of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), cyclooxygenase(COX)-1, COX-2, interleukin(IL)-4, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, prostaglandin E2(PGE2), and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) in the cell supernatant; immunofluorescence was utilized to detect the co-localization of NOD-like receptor protein 3(NLRP3), apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a CARD(ASC), and cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteinase-1(caspase-1). In the animal experiment, the degree of paw swelling and arthritis index in AA rats were tested; hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to observe the morphological changes in the ankle joint tissue, and the joint histological score was calculated; the colorimetric method and ELISA were utilized to assess the levels of LDH, COX-1, COX-2, IL-4, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, IL-18, PGE2, and TNF-α in the synovial tissue of ankle joints in AA rats. Real-time PCR was used to determine the mRNA levels of ASC, caspase-1, COX-1, COX-2, myeloid differentiation factor 88(MyD88), NLRP3, PGE2, and Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4) in MH7A cells and ankle synovial tissue. Western blot was utilized to assess the protein expression levels of ASC, caspase-1, cytosolic NF-κB p65, MyD88, NLRP3, nuclear NF-κB p65, pro-caspase-1, pro-IL-18, pro-IL-1β and TLR4 in MH7A cells and ankle synovial tissues. The results manifested that TCS prominently depressed LPS-and ATP-induced migration of MH7A cells, reduced paw swelling degree and joint index in AA rats, alleviated synovial edema and inflammatory cell infiltration, lessened bone erosion, cartilage destruction, and vascular opacity formation, and lowered joint histological scores of joint inflammation, vascular opacities, and cartilage and bone injury. Moreover, TCS prominently reduced the levels of COX-2, IL-6, IL-18, IL-1β, LDH, PGE2, and TNF-α while heightening the levels of COX-1, IL-4, and IL-10 in the supernatant of MH7A cells and the synovial tissue. It dramatically down-regulated the mRNA levels of ASC, caspase-1, COX-2, MyD88, NLRP3, PGE2, and TLR4, as well as the protein levels of ASC, caspase-1, MyD88, NLRP3, nuclear NF-κB p65, pro-caspase-1, pro-IL-18, pro-IL-1β, and TLR4 in the MH7A cells treated with LPS and ATP and the ankle synovial tissue of AA rats, restrained co-localization of NLRP3, ASC, and caspase-1 in the MH7A cells treated with LPS and ATP, and up-regulated the mRNA level of COX-1 and the protein level of cytosolic NF-κB p65 in the MH7A cells treated with LPS and ATP and the ankle synovial tissue of AA rats. These aforementioned results manifest that TCS has a good anti-rheumatoid arthritis effect on MH7A cells treated with LPS and ATP and the rat model of CFA-induced AA by repressing TLR4/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway activation and reducing inflammatory responses.
