Amelioration Of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis In Rats By Sinomenine

To investigate the therapeutic efficacy and mechanism of Sinomenine on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in rats, we induced the model of EAE, using female Wistar rats immunized with brain and spinal cord extracts together with complete Freund's adjuvant, and administered Sinomenine in three different doses into the EAE rats. The severity of the disease was scored on a scale 0-6 according to the signs and symptoms. Histological examinations were performed in brain and spinal cord sections. The levels of plama TNF-, IFN-y and IL-10 were examined by ELISA. We found that Sinomenine treatment at three different doses significantly protected the rats against disease. The protection by Sinomenine was associated with significant reduction in the number of inflammatory staining in the brain and spinal cord as examined by histology. The levels of serum TNF-a, and IFN-y were markedly reduced in Sinomenine treated rats. The further experiment showed that Sinomeneine also inhibited the activity of brain NF- B, increased the level of plama cortisol, and decreased that of plama prolactin. Thus, we concluded that the protective anti-inflammatory effect of Sinomenine may be a potential candidate for use in treating patients with MS and the protection ofSinomenine may be due to the inhibition of brain NF-KB activity.