Deer Velvet Antler Extracts Exert Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Arthritic Effects on Human Rheumatoid Arthritis Fibroblast-Like Synoviocytes and Distinct Mouse Arthritis

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes joint deformity and disability. Deer velvet antler (DA), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been used to treat various types of arthritis for several thousands of years, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Herein, we investigated the anti-arthritic and anti-inflammatory effects of DA in vitro and in vivo. The ethyl acetate layer of DA ethanol extract (DA-EE-EA) was used to treat tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-[Formula: see text]-stimulated fibroblast-like synoviocyte MH7A cells, collagen-induced arthritis DBA/1 mice, and SKG mice with zymosan-induced arthritis. DA-EE-EA reduced nitric oxide production, prostaglandin E2 levels, and levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1[Formula: see text], IL-6, and IL-8 in MH7A cells. DA-EE-EA also downregulated the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 and c-Jun N-terminal kinase and the translocation of nuclear factor kappa B p65. Intraperitoneal injection of DA-EE-EA for 3 weeks substantially reduced clinical arthritis scores in vivo models. Pathohistological images of the hind paws showed that DA-EE-EA reduced immune cell infiltration, synovial hyperplasia, and cartilage damage. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha, IL-1[Formula: see text], IL-6, IL-8, IL-17A, and interferon-gamma, decreased in the hind paw homogenates of DA-EE-EA-treated mice. We also identified several potential components, such as hexadecanamide, oleamide, erucamide, and lysophosphatidylcholines, that might contribute to the anti-inflammatory effects of DA-EE-EA. In conclusion, DA-EE-EA has the potential to treat RA by regulating inflammatory responses. However, the individual components of DA-EE-EA and the underlying anti-inflammatory mechanisms need further investigation in future studies.

Chemometric-guided chemical marker selection: A case study of the heat-clearing herb Scrophularia ningpoensis

“…Recent advances in spectroscopic techniques opened another page in the characterization of biologically active metabolites from nature ( Jarmusch et al., 2021 ; Cheng et al., 2022 ; Su et al., 2022 ; Wang et al., 2022 ). To elucidate the relationships between the structural-dependent anti-inflammatory activities of S. ningpoensis fractions, the tandem mass MN strategy was incorporated with neutrophilic inhibitory properties (anti-O 2 •− ) to characterize the potential anti-inflammatory constituents based on their MS/MS fragmentation features and chemical classes.…”

Hepatitis C Virus Infection Upregulates Plasma Phosphosphingolipids and Endocannabinoids and Downregulates Lysophosphoinositols

“…Dodecanamide has been reported as an intracellular metabolite in MCF-7 cells after doxorubicin-induced cell death [ 38 ] and with diminished levels in the serum of acute myeloid leukemia patients who responded well to chemotherapy with cytarabine plus anthracycline [ 39 ]. There exist more extensive studies in the literature on palmitamide, palmitoleamide, stearamide, oleamide, and linoleamide [ 37 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], but none in relation to HCV and the liver, with the exception of oleamide in our earlier metabolomics report on HCV-infected patients [ 28 ]. Therefore, our description of these seven FAAs elevated due to HCV infection is novel, which is additionally supported by our observation that the FAA catabolic enzyme FAAH2 showed a 40% decrease ( p = 0.03) in mRNA expression due to HCV.…”

Current evidence for non‐pharmaceutical, non‐surgical treatments of canine osteoarthritis

“…Elk velvet antler is a Chinese medicine used to treat various diseases and is derived from the inner antler core in the velvet stage of growth (Zhang et al 1992). In vivo studies have shown anti-inflammatory effects in a rodent model of inflammation (Cheng et al 2022). Velvet antler also contains chondroitin sulphate (Moreau et al 2003, Henrotin & Lambert 2013, Bhathal et al 2017, Scott et al 2017.…”

“…In vivo studies have shown anti‐inflammatory effects in a rodent model of inflammation (Cheng et al . 2022). Velvet antler also contains chondroitin sulphate (Moreau et al .…”