The Effectiveness and Safety of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F Extracts in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To conduct a meta-analysis of the effectiveness and safety of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook. F (TwHF) extracts for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane, Medline, CNKI, SinoMed and WanFang Library till 12 July 2017. All included studies were analyzed with the use of the Review Manager 5.2 software according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Statement protocol. Results: Fourteen randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were identified. TwHF extracts provided a statistically significant improvement in grip strength (GS), swelling joint count (SJC) and morning stiffness (MS) compared with placebo (P < 0.001). The meta-analysis showed significant differences between TwHF extract-treated group and the DMARDs group in GS, MS, C-reactive protein (CRP), and tender joint count (TJC) (P < 0.05), aside from ESR and SJC (P > 0.05). The pooled results also displayed significant differences between the combination of TwHF extracts with DMARDs and the DMARDs alone group in ESR, CRP, SJC, and TJC (P ≤ 0.05). For the safety analysis, two trials favored TwHF extract-treatment and one trial favored non-TWHF extract-treatment in AEs (P < 0.05). Eleven trials showed no statistically significant differences between TwHF extract-treated group and the DMARDs group (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The findings of this systematic review with meta-analysis indicate that TwHF extracts provides statistically significant and clinically important improvement in RA symptoms and has an acceptable safety profile.

MicroRNA-181a, -146a and -146b in spleen CD4+ T lymphocytes play proinflammatory roles in a murine model of asthma.

CD4+ T lymphocytes can be primarily polarized to differentiate into Th2 cells, and are heavily involved in the Th2 inflammation of asthma. Little is known about the correlation between microRNAs and Th2 inflammation in asthma, therefore we explore the roles of five microRNAs (microRNA-181a, -155, -150, -146a and -146b) in Th2 inflammation of asthma by tracking their expression levels in splenic CD4+ T lymphocytes under different conditions. Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), the dynamic changes of these microRNAs in murine models of acute asthma (i.e. the OVA group) were analyzed, in comparison to a control group. The effects of dexamethasone on the miRNA expression levels were also investigated. The results showed that the expression levels of microRNA-181a, -150, -146a and -146b were higher in the OVA group compared to the control group in the beginning of the disease, and after 5days dropped to control group levels because there was no new airway challenge. Moreover, the miRNA-146a expression was down-regulated by treatment with dexamethasone. MicroRNA-181a had a positive linear correlation with the numbers of inflammatory cells (i.e. the numbers of total cells or of the eosinophils in the BALF) by Spearman correlation analysis, so did miRNA-146a and miRNA-146b. These observations suggest that microRNA-181a, -146a and -146b are proinflammatory factors in asthma, and that down-regulation of miRNA-146a may partially account for the anti-inflammatory effect of dexamethasone.

[Effect of STAT5 gene silencing on the proliferation of T lymphocytes in a mouse model of asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of silencing STAT5 gene on the proliferation of T lymphocytes in a mouse model of asthma. METHODS: Spleen T-lymphocytes of normal and asthmatic mice were selected by immunomagnetic beads, and the STAT5a/b genes of these T-lymphocytes were silenced by siRNA. The mRNA of STAT5a/b was detected by fluorescence quantitative PCR, and the protein by Western blot. The proliferation rates of T-lymphocytes was evaluated by CCK-8, and the cell cycle and the cell apoptosis was measured by flow cytometry. RESULTS: (1) Significant inflammatory cell infiltration was present in asthmatic mouse airways, as compared to the normal control mice. (2) The STAT5a/b mRNA expression of the asthmatic group was significantly higher compared with the normal control group. (3) Compared to the blank control group, the mRNA expression of STAT5a/b was reduced in the siRNA-specific intervention (T: 35.014 vs 14.553, P < 0.01). The protein expression of STAT5a/b was also reduced after siRNA-specific intervention (T: -10.958 vs -14.706, P < 0.01). The proliferation rates of T lymphocytes was reduced after siRNA-specific intervention (T: 8.692 vs 10.540, P < 0.01), and the number of T-lymphocytes in proliferative phase was all significantly reduced after siRNA-specific intervention (T: 6.975 vs -5.567, P < 0.05). The apoptosis rates of T lymphocytes were significantly increased after siRNA-specific intervention (T: -6.404 vs -6.038, P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: RNA interference specifically reduced the expression of STAT5a/b, inhibited the proliferation of T lymphocytes, and promoted the apoptosis of T lymphocytes in a mouse model of asthma.