Oral Administration of Shark Type II Collagen Suppresses Complete Freund’s Adjuvant-Induced Rheumatoid Arthritis in Rats

Abstract

Objective: Shark type II collagen (SCII) is extracted as a glycoprotein from the cartilage of blue shark (Prionace glauca). We aim to confirm the effects of oral tolerance of SCII on inflammatory and immune responses to the ankle joint of rheumatoid-arthritis rats induced by Complete Freund’s Adjuvant (CFA). Materials and Methods: The onset of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was observed 14 ± x days after injection of CFA. Rats in the control group were treated with acetic acid by oral administration (0.05 mmol kg−1d−1, days 14–28), while rats in experimental groups were treated by oral administration with SCII (1 or 3 mg kg−1d−1, days 14–28), Tripterygium wilfordii polyglycosidium (TWP) (10 mg kg−1d−1, days 14–28), and bovine type II collagen from US (US-CII) (1 mg kg−1d−1, days 14–28), respectively. The severity of arthritis was evaluated by the articular swelling. The immunological indexes observed included delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction, the level of interleukins 10 (IL-10) in rat blood serum and morphological characterization. Mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC) was performed to investigate the relationship between T cell apoptosis and specific immune tolerance induced by SCII. Results: Treatment with SCII for 2 weeks significantly attenuated the acute inflammation. The rats orally administrated with SCII at the level of 3 mg kg−1d−1 (SCII 3) and US-CII had decreased DTH reaction compared with rats in control group. Rats treated with SCII 3 had the highest level of IL-10 with 102 pg/mL. SCII with concentration of 10 μg/L could help to significantly enhance level of Fas/Apo-1 in T cell in vitro. The result of histological staining indicated that the recovery of the articular membranes of ankle joint in SCII 3 group was greatly enhanced. Conclusions: Our results suggest that appropriate dose of SCII can not only ameliorate symptoms but also modify the disease process of Complete-Freunds-Adjuvant-induced arthritis. Oral administration of SCII might be a potential candidate as a novel drug for further investigation.

Dietary Keratan Sulfate from Shark Cartilage Modulates Gut Microbiota and Increases the Abundance of Lactobacillus spp.

“…For more than 20 years, there has been documentation in the literature suggesting shark cartilage could be used to treat or prevent arthritis [54,55,56]. However, years passed, although different mechanisms have been proposed [56,57], and there are still questions as to how the bioactive substances from shark cartilage inhibit inflammation and attenuate symptoms of this degenerative disease. Recently, the abundance of Lactobacillus spp.…”

Quantitative and qualitative characterization of expanded CD4+ T cell clones in rheumatoid arthritis patients

“…Current treatment of RA suppresses inflammation nonspecifically and the risk of adverse events such as infection is inevitable. Although data is limited, several autoantigens have already been identified and there have been several reports about the tolerance-inducing antigen-specific strategies 52 53 54 55 56 57 . By expanding our knowledge of autoantigens in RA and tolerance-inducing mechanism in human, we may be able to develop antigen-specific therapies which have fewer side effects and possibly become alternative treatment.…”

Purification, characterization and antioxidant properties of low molecular weight collagenous polypeptide (37 kDa) prepared from whale shark cartilage (Rhincodon typus)

“…To date, there have been some studies on the arthritogenicity and tolerogenicity of low molecular weight polypeptides from CII (Chen et al 2012;Xi et al 2009). At first, Schmid and Conrad (1982) identified a new collagenous polypeptide with a molecular weight (MW) of~59 kDa and further they stated that this low molecular weight collagenous polypeptide plays a major role in calcification of the cartilage.…”