Effect of N-Feruloylserotonin and Methotrexate on Severity of Experimental Arthritis and on Messenger RNA Expression of Key Proinflammatory Markers in Liver

J Immunol Res. 2016:2016:7509653. doi: 10.1155/2016/7509653. Epub 2016 Jul 31.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease, leading to progressive destruction of joints and extra-articular tissues, including organs such as liver and spleen. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a potential immunomodulator, natural polyphenol N-feruloylserotonin (N-f-5HT), with methotrexate (MTX), the standard in RA therapy, in the chronic phase of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) in male Lewis rats. The experiment included healthy controls (CO), arthritic animals (AA), AA given N-f-5HT (AA-N-f-5HT), and AA given MTX (AA-MTX). N-f-5HT did not affect the body weight change and clinical parameters until the 14th experimental day. Its positive effect was rising during the 28-day experiment, indicating a delayed onset of N-f-5HT action. Administration of either N-f-5HT or MTX caused reduction of inflammation measured as the level of CRP in plasma and the activity of LOX in the liver. mRNA transcription of TNF-α and iNOS in the liver was significantly attenuated in both MTX and N-f-5HT treated groups of arthritic rats. Interestingly, in contrast to MTX, N-f-5HT significantly lowered the level of IL-1β in plasma and IL-1β mRNA expression in the liver and spleen of arthritic rats. This speaks for future investigations of N-f-5HT as an agent in the treatment of RA in combination therapy with MTX.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Arachidonate Lipoxygenases / genetics
  • Arachidonate Lipoxygenases / metabolism
  • Arthritis, Experimental / drug therapy
  • Arthritis, Experimental / genetics*
  • Arthritis, Experimental / pathology*
  • Biomarkers
  • C-Reactive Protein
  • Cytokines / blood
  • Cytokines / genetics
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
  • Inflammation Mediators*
  • Liver / drug effects*
  • Liver / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Methotrexate / pharmacology*
  • Organ Specificity
  • Rats
  • Serotonin / analogs & derivatives*
  • Serotonin / pharmacology
  • Severity of Illness Index
  • Time Factors
  • Transcriptome*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Cytokines
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • N-feruloylserotonin
  • Serotonin
  • C-Reactive Protein
  • Arachidonate Lipoxygenases
  • Methotrexate