Objective: To explore the therapeutic effect and inflammatory mechanism of fire needles on gouty arthritis.
Methods: Sixty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups, that is, control group, the model group, the colchicine group, and the fire needle treatment group. Acute gouty arthritis was prepared by injection of monosodium urate in the ankle joint. The inflammation-related protein [toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3), interleukin (IL)-1β, myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88), nuclear factorkappa B (NF-κB), phosphorylated NF-κB (p-NF-κB), caspase-1, and p-caspase-1] in swollen tissues, the inflammation-related mRNAs indicators (TLR4, NLRP3, NF-κB, and caspase-1) and the inflammatory factors [IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)] in the serum were detected by Western blot, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively.
Results: The fire needle treatment could reduce joint swelling, increase mechanical pain threshold and decrease the inflammation index score in the fire needle treatment group. It could also significantly decreased the protein expression of IL-1β, TLR4, MyD88, p-NF-κB and NLRP3 in joint tissue, markedly downregulated the mRNA levels of TLR4 and NLRP3 in joint tissue, and significantly reduce serum levels of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, and CRP.
Conclusion: The fire needle treatment had positive effect of treating gouty arthritis, and its under- lying mechanism might be associated with NF-κB activation and related inflammatory response.
Keywords: Arthritis, gouty; Fire needle; Inflammation; NF-kappa B.