[Wuwei Wentong Chubi Capsule promotes the autophagy in synovial tissue of adjuvant-induced arthritis rats and its mechanism].

Objective To evaluate the effect of Wuwei Wentong Chubi (WWWTCB) Capsule on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway in the synovial tissues of adjuvant-induced arthritis (AA) rats, and investigate its potential pharmacological mechanisms of treating rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Sixty Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly assigned into six groups evenly: normal group, model group, WWWTCB groups at 0.80, 1.60, 3.20 g/kg body mass, and tripterygium glycosides tablet (TPT) group at 40 mg/kg body mass. Except for the normal group, the other five groups were induced into AA models with Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA). The WWWTCB or TPT, was administrated from day 12 after injection of CFA by gavage, once a day for 12 days. After that, unaffected ankle-joint tissues from the AA rats were collected for histopathological examination. The mRNA levels of PI3K, AKT, mTOR, p70s6 and beclin1 in the synovial tissue were detected by real-time quantitative PCR. Meanwhile, the protein levels of PI3K, AKT, p-AKT, mTOR, p-mTOR, p70s6, p-p70s6 and beclin1 were determined by immunofluorescence histochemical staining and/or Western blotting. Results Compared with the model group, WWWTCB (1.60, 3.20 g/kg body mass) groups showed less ankle-joint injury and decreased proliferation of synovial cells in the ankle-joint tissues. In addition, the administration of WWWTCB decreased the mRNA and protein levels of PI3K, AKT, p-AKT, mTOR, p-mTOR, p70s6 and p-p70s6, while increased the level of beclin1. Conclusion WWWTCB ameliorated AA in rats. The improvement might be closely related to the inhibitory effect of WWWTCB on the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and its promoting effect on the autophagy activity of synovial cells.