Celastrol inhibits rheumatoid arthritis by inducing autophagy via inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the synovial joints. Celastrol (Cel) is a quinone-methylated triterpenoid extracted from Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (TwHF) that has been proven to be effective in treating RA. However, the underlying molecular mechanism of celastrol in the treatment of RA remains unknown. This study explored the protective effect of celastrol against RA and the specific mechanisms of celastrol in vitro and in vivo. A chicken type II collagen (CII)-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model was used to explore the anti-arthritic effects of celastrol, and paw swelling degree, the poly-arthritis index score and serum cytokine levels were determined. Pathological morphology was observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The influences of celastrol on the proliferation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) were tested by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays and 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) staining assays. The level of autophagy was detected by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Furthermore, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway and the status of autophagy in the CIA model and FLSs were also detected by western blot and immunofluorescence staining. The results showed that celastrol decreased arthritis severity and inhibited TNF-α-induced FLSs proliferation. Additionally, celastrol decreased the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Moreover, celastrol increased autophagosome levels and LC3B protein expression in TNF-α-treated FLSs. Furthermore, celastrol increased the protein expression of LC3-II and Beclin-1 and decreased the phosphorylation degree of mTOR and AKT. In conclusion, our findings confirmed that celastrol ameliorates RA via the up-regulation of autophagy by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT/mTOR axis.