Soya-cerebroside reduces interleukin production in human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblasts by inhibiting the ERK, NF-κB and AP-1 signalling pathways

ABSTRACT

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is characterised by the infiltration of a number of proinflammatory cytokines into synovial fluid. Soya-cerebroside, an extract from Cordyceps militaris, inhibits synovial inflammation and reduces cartilage damage in an osteoarthritis model, although the role of soya-cerebroside in inflammatory cytokine expression in RA is uncertain. In this study, Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database records revealed higher levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 in RA tissue compared with normal tissue. Elevated levels of these inflammatory cytokines were also higher in mice with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) than in control mice. Soya-cerebroside effectively inhibited IL-1β, IL-6 and IL-8 expression in RA synovial fibroblasts, apparently by inhibiting the ERK, NF-κB and AP-1 signalling pathways. This anti-inflammatory agent shows promise for the treatment of RA.

KEYWORDS:

• Soya-cerebroside
• rheumatoid arthritis
• IL-1β
• IL-6
• IL-8

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan (MOST 107-2320-B-039-019-MY3 ), China Medical University Hospital (DMR-108-075) and by funding from China Medical University under the Higher Education Sprout Project, Ministry of Education, Taiwan (CMRC-CHM-3-1; CMRC-CHM-2-2). We would like to thank Iona J. MacDonald from China Medical University for her English language revision of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by China Medical University Hospital: [Grant Number DMR-108-075]; China Medical University under the Higher Education Sprout Project; Ministry of Education, Taiwan: [Grant Number CMRC-CHM-3-1; CMRC-CHM-2-2]; Ministry of Science and Technology of Taiwan: [Grant Number MOST-107-2320-B-039-019-MY3].