beta-aminoarteether-maleate and Arthritis--Rheumatoid

SM934 is an artemisinin analogue with immunosuppressive properties and potent therapeutic activity against lupus-like diseases in autoimmune mice. In this report, the therapeutic efficacy and underlying mechanisms of SM934 on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was investigated using collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in DBA/1J mice. We demonstrated that SM934 treatment alleviate the severity of arthritis in CIA mice with established manifestations. The therapeutic benefits were associated with ameliorated joint swelling and reduced extent of bone erosion and destruction. Further, administration of SM934 diminished the development of T follicular helper (Tfh) cells and Th17 cells and suppressed the production of pathogenic antibodies, without altering the proportion of germinal center B cells. Ex vivo, SM934 treatment inhibited the bovine type II collagen (CII) induced proliferation and inflammatory cytokines secretion of CII -reactive T cells. In vitro, SM934 impeded the polarization of naïve CD4

Topics: Animals; Artemisinins; Arthritis, Experimental; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Cattle; CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes; Collagen Type II; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Interferon-gamma; Interleukins; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mice, Inbred DBA; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-6; STAT3 Transcription Factor; Th17 Cells