Ethnopharmacological relevance: Xiaofeng Granules (XF) is a kind of granules prepared by the famous traditional Chinese medicine formula for its efficiency in treating gouty diseases.
Aim of the study: We investigated the relevance between XF that made from Modified simiaowan (MSW) as the anti-gouty arthritis drugs and protective mechanisms for cartilage matrix in order to provide the evidence for new drug application.
Materials and methods: In the present study, we evaluated the anti-gouty arthritis activity of XF in rats and rabbits models induced by MSU together with chondrocytes focusing on the link to proteoglycan degradation in vitro studies.
Results: The results demonstrated that XF significantly reduced the swelling rate and attenuated the pathological changes in joints. The XF-containing serum were used medicated serum in cellular experiments. The in vitro data were in accordance with the in vivo results, showing that the constituents in XF-containing serum had obvious inhibitory effects on the activation of pro-inflammatory mediators in chondrocytes. Moreover, XF-containing serum substantially inhibited MSU-induced expression of glycosaminoglycans(GAG) and hydroxyproline(Hyp), and up regulated proteoglycan, which might be associated with the regulation of the balance of MMP-3/TIMP-1and ADAMTS-4/TIMP-3 inchondrocytes.
Conclusion: In conclusion, XF that made from MSW showed obvious effects on acute gouty arthritis, which also provided an effective protection on cartilage matrix degradation.
Keywords: Chondrocytes; Gouty arthritis; Monosodium urate; Proteoglycan; Xiaofeng granules.
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