Background and objective. The role of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in the treatment of autoimmune diseases remains vague. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of AuNPs in the treatment of rats with established collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). Material and Methods. A total of 24 Wistar male rats with established CIA were used. AuNPs measuring 13-nm and 50-nm were prepared according to standard procedures, and their size was determined using transmission electron microscopy. These gold particles were injected intra-articularly 5 times a week, 12 injections in total. Body and organ weight, arthritic profiles based on paw swelling, histological changes in the joints and internal organs, blood indices, and serum oxidative products were investigated. Results. An examination of the course of the experimental disease and a subsequent histological analysis as well as hematological studies revealed a nontoxic effect of AuNPs on the vital organs. The treatment of the rats with established CIA by 13-nm and 50-nm gold nanoparticles decreased joint swelling by 49.7% (P<0.002) and 45.03% (P<0.01), respectively. That corresponded to the decrease in statistically significant histological changes in articular tissues. AuNPs showed their antioxidant effect by increasing the level of antioxidant enzyme catalase. Conclusions. The continuous intra-articular administration of AuNPs not only reduced the inflammation, joint swelling, and development of polyarthritis, but also reduced histological changes in articular tissues without toxic effects on the internal organs. The results obtained disclose the role of AuNPs as antioxidant agents.

No abstract

The present study suggests that EM 1201 has protective activity against arthritis and demonstrated its potential beneficiary effect analogical to diclofenac. Anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative effect of EM 1201 in rats with AA support the need of further investigations by using it as supplementary agent alone or together with other anti-arthritic drugs in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.

The aim of this study was to investigate the development of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in male and female Wistar and Lewis rats and establish relationships between clinical status and the levels of serum oxidative products. CIA was induced in 64 rats divided randomly into three groups. Animals of the 1st group received one 0.1 ml injection of bovine type II collagen (CII, in dose of 0.1 mg/rat) emulsified in incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). Rats of the 2nd group were immunized twice: on day 0 (dose of CII 0.1 mg/rat) and day 7 (dose of CII 0.05 mg/rat), and the animals of the 3rd group received one 0.1 ml injection of emulsion consisting of CII (0.1 mg/rat) in IFA and muramyldipeptide (MDP, in dose of 3 mg/ml). Serum oxidative products such as malondialdehyde (MDA), anti-oxidative enzyme catalase (CAT), total antioxidant activity (AOA), and arthritic profiles based on paw swelling, development of polyarthritis and histological changes in joints were measured in rats with CIA. Our findings have demonstrated that CIA develops in both sexes of Wistar and Lewis rats and the disease that occurs is an inflammatory erosive arthritis. Examination of the clinical course of the disease and the subsequent histological analysis disclosed a slight less aggressive disease in Wistar than in Lewis rats and in female than in male animals. The most severe arthritis developed in the 3rd group of male Lewis rats. CIA induced significant changes in the parameters of the pro-/antioxidant status of serum. Comparison of the oxidative statuses of both strains of rats with CIA and those of healthy animals revealed more elevated MDA levels in the serum of Wistar than Lewis rats. More evidently in the serum of these rats the level of total AOA was reduced, especially in the 3rd group of animals. More susceptible to CIA, Lewis rats showed a lower MDA production as compared with Wistar animals, and the lowest CAT activity in the serum of these rats was observed. In conclusion, attenuated inflammatory response and pathomorphological changes in joints were more observed in female animals of both strains. Male Lewis rats were most susceptible to CIA. On the basis of increased lipid peroxidation and decreased levels of AOA and enzyme CAT activity, CIA rats are subject to oxidative stress.

Background. Conventional therapies show only limited effects on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and are helpful in controlling the symptoms, but in cases of chronic, prolonged RA they are unsatisfactory and associated with various side effects. So, the use of complementary / alternative medicine, predominantly herbal therapies, by sufferers of rheumatic diseases is highly prevalent and increasing. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antiinflammatory effects of Aesculus hippocastanum L. (AH) tincture on the pro-/antioxidant bodily status in rats with adjuvant arthritis (AA).Materials and methods. Fifty Lewis rats of both sexes were used. AA was induced in 40 animals by a single injection of 0.1 ml of complete Freund's adjuvant into the left hind paw. Body weight and the anti-inflammatory effects of AH, assessed by joint swelling, were determined three times a week in the control and test groups of animals. Daily oral administration of three different doses of AH (2.4, 4.8 and 9.5 mg/kg calculated to the dry weight of the tincture) were performed. At the end of the trial, blood indices, histological changes in the inflamed joints, oxidative products such as malondialdehide (MDA), anti-oxidative enzyme catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and total antioxidant activity (AOA) in the serum and gastric mucosa tissue homogenates were evaluated.Results. Female rats treated with a middle dose (4.8 mg/kg) of AH tincture showed the lowest joint swelling, which significantly differed from the control AA group at the end of the experiment. The treatment improved the systemic parameters of the disease, such as blood indices and the weight of internal organs, showed no toxicity on the main organs and was selected for investigating the pro-/antioxidant indices of the blood serum and gastric mucosa homogenates. There were significant differences between sexes in terms of the pro-/antioxidant status of the serum. A lower MDA level and statistically significant AOA in female rats with AA were observed. Although the treatment lowered the MDA level and increased CAT activity in animals of both sexes, a significant difference remained between males and females: the latter showed a lower level of MDA and a higher CAT activity. Development of AA significantly increased the MDA level and decreased CAT activity, but only slightly affected SOD and AOA activity in gastric tissue homogenates. Their incubation with AH tincture had a positive effect, especially in female rats in which a significant decrease of MDA and a higher CAT activity were found in arthritic rats and elevated SOD activity in healthy rats. However, the pro-/antioxidant status of gastric tissue homogenates did not significantly differ between male and female rats.Conclusions. The results of the study clearly indicate that AH may be beneficial due to its anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects. The best effect was shown by the middle dose in female rats with AA. The in vivo anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of the herbal tincture may be the promising features...