Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Qing-Luo-Yin (QLY) is an anti-rheumatic herbal formula potentially activating PPARγ. The study investigated if and how this property contributes to its anti-angiogenesis effects. METHODS: Adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats were orally treated by QLY or rosiglitazone (a PPARγ agonist), and their monocytes and lymphocytes were co-cultured reciprocally in vitro with different sera. Healthy littermates received blood transfusion from QLY-treated or AIA model rats. Two days ahead of sacrifice, a matrigel plug was implanted in the recipients. AIA serum-incubated THP-1 monocytes and Jurkat T cells were treated by a mixture comprised sinomenine, berberine and palmatine. Jurkat T cells-related media and T0070907 were used to stimulate human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). RESULTS: QLY and rosiglitazone similarly alleviated joint injuries, synovial angiogenesis and metabolic disorders in AIA rats. Although QLY impaired inflammatory phenotype of AIA rat monocytes in vivo, it cannot be achieved or sustained in vitro. Lymphocytes of QLY-treated AIA rats had a weak inflammatory phenotype and failed to induce inflammatory polarization of monocytes. AIA blood-induced angiogenesis in the matrigel plug, a phenomenon invisible in QLY group. QLY therapy inhibited pathogenic functions of AIA rats' lymphocytes, shown by changes of cytokines network in the recipients' joints, where these cells accumulated. The related compounds affected secretion of Jurkat T cells cultured in AIA serum, which lost the potential in activating HUVECs. This effect disappeared in presence of T0070907, a PPARγ inhibitor. CONCLUSION: Angiogenesis amelioration during QLY therapy is an indirect result from PPARγ activation-caused functional changes of T cells.