Suppression of arthritis by an active center analogue of Cu2Zn2-superoxide dismutase

Methods for Testing Immunological Factors

Hypersensitivity reactions can be elicited by various factors: either immunologically induced, i.e., allergic reactions to natural or synthetic compounds mediated by IgE, or non-immunologically induced, i.e., activation of mediator release from cells through direct contact, without the induction of, or the mediation through immune responses. Mediators responsible for hypersensitivity reactions are released from mast cells. An important preformed mediator of allergic reactions found in these cells is histamine. Specific allergens or the calcium ionophore 48/80 induce release of histamine from mast cells. The histamine concentration can be determined with the o-phthalaldehyde reaction.

Antioxidant Activity of Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata(Maxim.) Trautv.)

The stem and root of Porcelainberry (Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (Maxim.) Trautv.) (AB) was traditionally used as an anti-inflammatory, diuretic and anti-hepatotoxic agent in folk medicine. In this study, cell-free and cell culture systems were employed to investigate the antioxidant activity of the methanol extract of AB (MEAB). The cell-free system showed that the MEAB exhibited dose-dependent antioxidant activities against linoleic acid peroxidation and plasmid DNA oxidation. We also demonstrated that the MEAB possessed strong reducing power and scavenging effects of hydroxyl radicals and DPPH free radicals.

The harmful effects of reactive oxygen metabolites on HepG2 cells and the possible antioxidant effects of the MEAB were also investigated. Pretreatment or cotreatment of HepG2 cells with the MEAB could significantly protect cells from H 2 O 2-induced oxidative stress. This implies that the antioxidant effects in cell culture may result from the direct interaction between the MEAB and exogenous oxidant sources, as these occur in cell free systems, as well as from the induction of cellular stress gene expression. The antioxidant activity of the MEAB may partially explain its anti-inflammatory and anti-hepatotoxic effects.

Expression of the thioredoxin-thioredoxin reductase system in the inflamed joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE

To examine the expression of the thioredoxin (TRX)-thioredoxin reductase (TR) system in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and patients with other rheumatic diseases.

METHODS

Levels of TRX in plasma and synovial fluid (SF) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Cellular distribution of TRX was determined by flow cytometry and histochemistry. Cellular expression of TR was studied by in situ messenger RNA (mRNA) hybridization. The effect of oxidative stress and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) on TRX expression by cultured rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocytes was studied.

RESULTS

Significantly increased TRX levels were found in the SF from 22 patients with RA, when compared with plasma levels in the same patients (P < 0.001) and compared with SF TRX levels in 15 patients with osteoarthritis (P < 0.001), 13 patients with gout (P < 0.05), and 9 patients with reactive arthritis (P < 0.0001). The presence of TRX could be demonstrated within the SF-derived mononuclear cells and synovial tissue (ST) of RA patients. Concordantly, expression of TR mRNA was observed in the ST of these patients. Stimulation of synovial fibroblast-like synoviocytes with either H2O2 or TNF alpha induced an increase in the production of TRX.

CONCLUSION

The data demonstrate significantly increased concentrations of TRX in the SF and ST of RA patients when compared with the levels in patients with other joint diseases. Evidence is presented that the local environment in the rheumatic joint contributes to increased TRX production. Based on its growth-promoting and cytokine-like properties, it is proposed that increased expression of TRX contributes to the disease activity in RA.

Suppression of type II collagen-induced arthritis by N-acetyl-L-cysteine in mice

1. The antiarthritic and anti-inflammatory efficacy of N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) was tested in male DBA/1 hybrid mice suffering from type II collagen-induced arthritis. Parameters including the arthritis index and the phagocytic responses recorded by chemiluminescence in unseparated blood were used for the assessment of disease activity. 2. Mice were immunized by subdermal injection of bovine type II collagen in Freund's complete adjuvant. The treatment with NAC started at day 42 after immunization and was continued over a period of six weeks: in doses ranging up to 50 mg/kg, a dose-dependent suppression of arthritis was noted; between 50 and 200 mg/kg, the inhibition curve had a plateau [ED50 = 50 mg/(kg x day)]. 3. The arthritis index correlated positively with the generation of chemiluminescence by reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in neutrophils and monocytes activated by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate. 4. After treatment with 100 mg/kg of NAC from day 42 after immunization over a period of six weeks, the ROS production was reduced to levels occurring in whole blood of healthy animals. 5. It is concluded that low-molecular-weight antioxidants such as NAC may be adequate for controlling oxidative stress-derived damage in rheumatic diseases by modulation of ROS-dependent signal transduction pathways.

Priming of NADPH oxidase by tumor necrosis factor alpha in patients with inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic diseases

Oxidative damage caused by oxygen free radicals from activated phagocytes contributes to the pathology of arthritis. The present study evaluates the activity of NADPH oxidase of neutrophils and monocytes from patients suffering from various inflammatory and autoimmune rheumatic disease. Production rates of reactive oxygen species [ROS] of neutrophils and monocytes from rheumatic patients are compared to those of healthy controls and non rheumatic disease controls and correlated with the plasma levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha, C-reactive protein and the sedimentation rates of erythrocytes. There was a two- to eightfold increase in phagocytic superoxide production in rheumatic patients, when compared to healthy subjects or patients with non-rheumatic internal diseases [p < 0.005]. The enhanced NADPH oxidase-dependent superoxide generation correlated well with elevated levels of tumor necrosis factor alpha [TNF-alpha] in plasma [p = 0.005], suggesting a causal relation. There was no correlation with the plasma levels of C-reactive protein and a weak though significant correlation with the sedimentation rates of erythrocytes [p = 0.043]. Removal of circulating TNF-alpha by dialysis of patients blood and inhibition of NADPH oxidase by prednisolone treatment normalized elevated ROS production to the levels of healthy controls and correlated with the clinical improvements. Our data support the hypothesis of a central role for TNF-alpha during the development of arthritis. The chemiluminescence assay described here may be useful as a convenient screen and as a potential follow up procedure for individual patients with rheumatic diseases.

Synergistic effects of thalidomide and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibition on type II collagen-induced arthritis in mice

The present study investigates synergistic effects of the TNF-alpha inhibitor thalidomide and the poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP)-inhibitor nicotinic acid amide (NAA) in male DBA/1 hybird mice suffering from type II collagen-induced arthritis. Parameters including the arthritis index, chemiluminescence and anti-collagen antibody titers were used for the assessment of disease activity: The disease courses demonstrated clearly an inhibitory effect of thalidomide. NAA inhibited established collagen arthritis in a dose-dependent manner. The combined application of thalidomide and NAA caused a powerful synergistic inhibition of arthritis. Furthermore, thalidomide and NAA were tested ex vivo for their inhibition of the NADPH oxidase-dependent generation of reactive oxygen species by activated neutrophils and monocytes in unseparated human blood. Our data show that type II collagen-induced arthritis can be suppressed by the simultaneous inhibition of TNF-alpha, PARP, and NADPH oxidase.

Hepatoprotective reactivity of a copper-di-Schiffbase active centre analogue of Cu2Zn2 superoxide dismutase

1. The anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective efficacy of CuPu(Py)2 ((N,N'-bis(2-pyridyl-methylene)-1,4-butanediamine) (N,N',N",N")-Cu2+), a serum-stable, copper-di-Schiffbase active centre analogue of Cu2Zn2 superoxide dismutase was tested in male NMNR mice suffering from endotoxin/galactosamine-induced hepatitis. 2. Parameters including the activities of serum transaminases and sorbitol-dehydrogenase as well as the levels of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediates which were used to quantify the disease activity. 3. A dose-dependent inhibition of hepatic enzyme release was noted in the presence of 0.1-10 mg/kg of CuPu(Py)2. 4. The release of transaminases from damaged liver cells was reduced by 68% and paralleled the reduction of serum levels of nitric oxides. 5. Elevated levels of reactive oxygen species were normalized to those healthy controls. 6. The copper-free apochelate Pu(Py)2, which is unable to dismutate superoxide, did not display any anti-inflammatory reactivity.

Modulation of inflammatory arthritis by inhibition of poly(ADP ribose) polymerase

Poly(ADPR) polymerase (PARP; EC 2.4.2.30) is a nuclear enzyme, which, when activated by oxygen- and nitrogen-radical-induced DNA strand breaks, transfers ADP ribose units to nuclear proteins and initiates apoptosis by depletion of cellular NAD and ATP pools. The present study investigates whether the oxidative stress-dependent activation of PARP plays a role in the etiopathogenesis of arthritis. The antiarthritic reactivity of the biogenic PARP inhibitor nicotinamide was tested in DBA/1 x B10A(4R) mice suffering from potassium peroxochromate-induced arthritis. Daily doses of 4 mmol/kg of NA suppressed the arthritis by 35% and inhibited the phagocytic generation of reactive oxygen species, which increases sixfold during the development of arthritis. The onset, progression, and remission of arthritis correlated positively to the phorbolester-activated respiratory burst of neutrophils and monocytes, and a dose-dependent inhibition of NADPH oxidase activity was determined with human phagocytes. Our data support the hypothesis that oxidative stress-induced alterations in cellular signal transduction pathways play a pivotal role in the development of arthritis, which can be suppressed by the simultaneous inhibition of poly(ADPR) polymerase and NADPH oxidase.

Antiinflammatory effects of NADPH oxidase inhibitors

Proinflammatory cytokines prime the membrane-bound NADPH oxidase of neutrophils and monocytes of mice suffering from experimental arthritis so as to attain an activated state, which, upon a second stimulus, releases 6-fold increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) than do unprimed phagocytes. Enhanced NADPH oxidase activity deregulates ROS-dependent signal transduction pathways of inflammation, which play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of arthritis. The antiarthritic reactivity of two inhibitors of NADPH oxidase, diphenylene iodoniumchloride (DPI) and staurosporine, was tested in male DBA/1 x B10A(4R) hybrid mice suffering from potassium peroxochromate arthritis. Daily doses of 2.8 mumol/kg of DPI or 30 nmol/kg of staurosporine sufficed to inhibit the arthritis by 50%. A complete inhibition was obtained with 10 mumol/kg of DPI, and 100 nmol/kg of staurosporine suppressed the arthritis by 85%. The onset, progression, and remission of arthritis correlated to both the activity of phagocytic NADPH oxidase (r = 0.750) and to overt disease symptoms as judged by the arthritis index. Our data support the hypothesis that oxidative stress plays a pivotal role in the pathology of arthritis, which can be therapeutically targeted by NADPH oxidase inhibitors.