Effects of Total Saponin from Rhizoma Dioscreae Nipponicae on NF-κB p65 Activity and STAT3 Protein Expression in Joint Synovium of CIA Rats

Objective To explore the effects of total saponin from rhizoma dioscreae nipponicae(RDN) on NF-κB p65 activity and STAT3 expression in synovium of collagen-induced arthritis(CIA) rats,and investigate the underlying mechanism about signal transduction pathways of RDN on antiangiogenesis in treating rheumatoid arthritis.Methods A total of 60 rats with successful modeling were randomly divided into 5 groups(n =12):CIA model group,Tripterygium(TP)-treating group(positive control group),RDN-treating group,Diosgenin-treating group and Diosgenin-Tablets-treating group,and established a separate normal control group(n = 12),then the rats in treated groups were lavaged with corresponding medicine for 35 days.The NF-κB p65 activity was detected by TransAMTM NF-κB p65 kit.Immunohistochemical staining was employed to determine the expression of STAT3 protein in synovium.Results NF-κB p65 activity and the expression of STAT3 protein were more obviously increased in synovium of CIA model group than in normal control group(P 0.01).The NF-κB p65 activity and the expression of STAT3 protein in RDN-treating,TP-treating,Diosgenin-treating and Diosgenin-tablet-treating groups were more obviously decreased than in CIA model group(P 0.01).There was no significant difference between each treated group(P 0.05).Conclusion Total saponin from RDA can inhibit angiogenesis in synovial of RA,which may be related to the inhibition of NF-κB p65 activity in NF-κB signaling pathway and the down-regulated expression of STAT3 protein which is an important substrate in the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.