CS-semi5 Inhibits NF-κB Activation to Block Synovial Inflammation, Cartilage Loss and Bone Erosion Associated With Collagen-Induced Arthritis

Xiang Li; Xiaonan Tang; Yufei Wang; Changwei Chai; Zhehui Zhao; Haijing Zhang; Ying Peng; Lianqiu Wu

doi:10.3389/fphar.2021.655101

CS-semi5 Inhibits NF-κB Activation to Block Synovial Inflammation, Cartilage Loss and Bone Erosion Associated With Collagen-Induced Arthritis

Front Pharmacol. 2021 Jul 9:12:655101. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.655101. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Xiang Li¹, Xiaonan Tang¹, Yufei Wang¹, Changwei Chai¹, Zhehui Zhao¹, Haijing Zhang¹, Ying Peng¹, Lianqiu Wu¹

Affiliation

¹ Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Functions of Natural Medicines, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.

Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease that affects 1% of the population. CS-semi5 is a semisynthetic chondroitin sulfate. In this study, CS-semi5 was shown to have positive effects on a model of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). CS-semi5 treatment had obvious effects on weight loss and paw swelling in CIA mice. Post-treatment analysis revealed that CS-semi5 alleviated three main pathologies (i.e., synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion and bone loss) in a dose-dependent manner. Further study showed that CS-semi5 could effectively reduce TNF-α and IL-1β production in activated macrophages via the NF-κB pathway. CS-semi5 also blocked RANKL-trigged osteoclast differentiation from macrophages. Therefore, CS-semi5 may effectively ameliorate synovial inflammation, cartilage erosion and bone loss in RA through NF-κB deactivation.

Keywords: bone loss; cartilage erosion; chondroitin sulfate; rheumatoid arthritis; synovial inflammation.