LYU Shaowa,WU Yunyu,LIU Quanli,et al.Mechanism of joint injection of Caulophyllum robustum Maxim in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis[J].ZHONGGUO YAOFANG,2025,36(08):926-931.
LYU Shaowa,WU Yunyu,LIU Quanli,et al.Mechanism of joint injection of Caulophyllum robustum Maxim in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis[J].ZHONGGUO YAOFANG,2025,36(08):926-931. DOI: 10.6039/j.issn.1001-0408.2025.08.06.
Mechanism of joint injection of Caulophyllum robustum Maxim in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis
Maxim in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
METHODS
2
The targets of main saponins in
C. robustum
Maxim were obtained from Swiss Target Prediction, and the RA treatment targets collected from the GeneCards and OMIM database were intercrossed to establish an interaction network based on network pharmacology. Gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis were performed. RA model was established by injecting complete Freund’s adjuvant into the back of rabbits for verification. The arthritis index score, knee diameter and pain threshold of rabbits were compared. Pathological examination of rabbit synovial tissue was carried out. The levels of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6 in rabbit serum and synovial fluid were detected. The phosphorylation levels of tyrosine protein Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) proteins in rabbit synovium were detected.
RESULTS
2
Network pharmacology identified 143 intersection targets between the drug and RA. After the construction of the “drug-component-target” network, the core components of the network were
ec
hinocystic acid, oleanolic acid, hederagenin, cauloside A and cauloside C, etc. Additionally, the top 10 core targets of PPI network were
SRC,
STAT3
,
MAPK1
,
EGFR
,
PIK3CA
,
MAPK3
,
GRB2
,
JUN
,
PTPN11
and
JAK2
. The results of KEGG pathway analysis showed that the JAK/STAT signaling pathway was mainly involved in the treatment of RA by joint injection of
C. robustum
Maxim. Results of validation test showed that compared with model group, joint injection of
C. robustum
Maxim could reduce the swelling of rabbit knee joint, relieve the hyperplasia of synovial layer, reduce the hyperplasia of lower connective tissue, and reduce the number of inflammatory cells and capillaries. The arthritis index score (excluding low-dose group of
C. robustum
Maxim), knee diameter, the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in serum and synovial fluid, and the protein phosphorylation levels of JAK2 and STAT3 were decreased significantly (
P
<0.05 of
P
<0.01), while the pain threshold were reduced significantly (
P
<0.01).
CONCLUSIONS
2
The core components that may alleviate the inflammatory response of RA in joint injection of
C. robustum
Maxim
could include echinocystic acid, oleanolic acid, hederagenin, cauloside A, and cauloside C. Its mechanism may be related to the inhibition of JAK/STAT signaling pathway and the reduction of inflammatory responses.
关键词
Keywords
references
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