Combined treatment with sinomenine and acupuncture on collagen-induced arthritis through the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathway

Sinomenine is a monomer extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine plant Sabia japonica, which possesses several pharmacological properties including prominent abirritation, mitigation, anti-inflammation, immune suppression, cough relief, stimulation of histamine release, decrease in blood pressure and antiarrhythmia. Sinomenine is clinically employed to treat rheumatic disease. To investigate the impact of combined sinomenine treatment with acupuncture on the progression of arthritis and explore the potential underlying molecular mechanisms, the present study analyzed a collagen-induced arthritis model. Results from the combined curative (CC) treatment group (combined treatment with sinomenine and acupuncture) demonstrated a decrease in volume changes and arthritis score changes within rat paws, and increased the overall body weight in arthritic rats. CC treatment significantly decreased tumor necrosis factor α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and IL-8 serum levels in arthritic rats. CC treatment significantly increased superoxide dismutase and inhibited malondialdehyde levels in arthritic rats. The protein expression of cyclooxygenase-2, inducible nitric oxide synthase, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)2 and MMP9 in arthritic rats was suppressed owing to CC treatment. Finally, nuclear factor κB and phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) protein expression in arthritic rats were also suppressed following CC treatment. The results indicate that the combined treatment of sinomenine and acupuncture on collagen-induced arthritis takes effect through the nuclear factor κB and MAPK signaling pathway.