Background/Purpose: Th1 and Th17 cells play very importent role in the lesions of human rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Total glucoside of paeony (TGP), an active compound extracted from Paeony root, has been used in therapy for RA and other autoimmune diseases. However the molecular mechanism of TGP in prevention of Th1 and Th17 differentiation remains unclear.

Methods: Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice were used as the RA animal model to test the therapeutic effect of TGP as well as its effect on Th1 and Th17 differentiation in vivo. Expression of cytokines was measured by ELISA, real-time PCR. Th1 and Th17 population were identified by flow cytometry, STATs activation was analyzed by western blotting.

Results: In this study, we found that TGP treatment significantly decreased clinical inflammatory score of CIA. Percentage and number of Th1 and Th17 cells in TGP-treated CIA CD4+ T cells decreased significantly compared with that of without TGP treatment. Moreover, investigation revealed that CIA-treated with TGP decreased expression of T-bet and RORgt in CD4+ T cells. But we did not found regulatory T cells (Treg) was altered in TGP treatment CIA mice. Furthermore, we found that TGP treatment inhibited IL-12 and IL-6 expression, meanwhile, activation of STAT1 and STAT3 was inhibited in TGP-treated CIA mice consistently.

Conclusion: Taken together, these findings indicate that TGP inhibits inflammation and autoimmunity in RA patients possibly by reducing Th1 and Th17 cell differentiation.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/total-glucosides-of-paeony-th1-and-th17-cell-differentiation-by-blocking-stat1-and-stat3-activation-in-vivo/