The Influence Of Huai Qi Huang Granules On Pyroptosis Pathway In Synovial Tissue Of Juvenile Collagen-induced Arthritis Rats

Background: Huai Qi Huang(HQH)has many effects,such as anti-inflammation,immune-regulation,anti-cancer,and so on.However,the protective mechanisms of HQH on Juvenile idiopathic arthritis(JIA)was obscure.Thus,we explored deeply the protective mechanisms in juvenile collagen-induced arthritis(CIA)rat model.Pyroptosis is a Gasdermin D(GSDMD)-depended programmed cell death,involving in many diseases,like sepsis.We revealed weather GSDMD-induced pyroptosis take part in mechanisms juvenile CIA arthritis.Methods: CIA was induced in rats by intradermal injection of bovine type ? collagen in complete Freund's adjuvant.Later,the CIA rats received oral administration of HQH(4.16g/kg)and Prednisong(4.16 mg/kg)once a day from the day 21,with the treatment lasting for 28 days.A variety of indicators were measured for evaluation of anti-inflammation effect,including hind paw swelling,arthritis scores,micro CT,and histopathological changes.And the contents of pro-inflammatory cytokines,including tumornecrosis factor alpha(TNF-?)and interleukin-18(IL-18)in the serum,as well as the expression of GSDMD and caspase-1 in the joint synovial tissues were detected to explore the possible mechanisms.Results: The results demonstrated that the expression of the pyroptotic protein GSDMD and its upstream caspase-1 were significantly increased in the synovial tissues of CIA model rats and HQH treatment could ameliorate the symptoms in CIA rats,reduce the levels of proinflammatory cytokines and paw swelling,down-regulated the expressions of GDSMD and caspase-1.Conclusions: The present results conjectured that HQH could effectively improve collagen-induced arthritis in rats by inhibiting pyroptosis-induced inflammation in the joint synovial tissues.