N-乙酰半胱氨酸对佐剂性关节炎大鼠治疗作用及机制

Objective: To investigate the anti-inflammatory effects of N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) on adjuvant arthritis (AA) rats and the changes of Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) -inflammatory factors. Methods: 50 SD rats, randomly divided into 10 control groups, 40 AA model group, after 10 d, which were divided into model group, NAC groups gave low, medium and high dose NAC (lavage respectively 50, 100, 200 mg/kg) for 16 d, joint swelling degree and arthritis index evaluation NAC therapeutic effect on AA rats;Immunohistochemical staining and Western blot were used to observe the expression of TLR2 protein in synovial tissue of joints. Serum levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-10 were detected by ELISA. Results: Compared with the control group, the joint swelling and arthritis index in the model group were significant, and the joint swelling and arthritis index in the NAC treatment groups were significantly reduced (P<0.05, P< 0.01). The expression of TLR2 protein in the synovial tissue of NAC treatment groups was decreased, inflammatory factors TNF-α and IL-1β were decreased, and IL-10 was increased (P<0.01). Conclusion: NAC can improve the symptoms of arthritis in AA rats, and its mechanism may be related to inhibition of TLR2 and regulation of downstream inflammatory factor pathways in AA rats.