Figure 4

(E)-2-Methoxy-4-(3-(4-methoxyphenyl) prop-1-en-1-yl) phenol (MMPP) treatment reduces rheumatoid arthritis (RA) symptoms in collagen antibody-induced arthritis (CAIA) mouse model.

For the assessment of RA, C57BL/6 mice were injected intravenously with anti-collagen II monoclonal antibody on day 0, then challenged with 50 μg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) intraperitoneally (i.p.) on day 3. Mice were treated i.p. with 0.05% dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) in normal saline (vehicle control), 5 mg/kg MMPP, or 5 mg/kg indomethacin (Indomt) daily during entire experimental period. (a) On day 21, severity of RA in hind paws was examined using photo-imaging and radiographic analysis. A representative image of each experimental group is shown. Clinical scoring for 18 days after LPS booster injection is shown in (b) (n = 10 each, data are mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM)). (c–e) Paraffin sections prepared from ankle joint tissue were stained with (c) haematoxylin and eosin (H&E), (d) iNOS or COX2. Images are representative microscope images (n = 5). Nuclei (blue) and protein expression (brown) are shown. Scale bar, 100 μm. (e) Levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 in ankle joints tissue of mice were determined (n = 5, mean ± SEM, ^#P < 0.05 vs. vehicle-treated normal control and ^*P < 0.05 vs. vehicle-treated CAIA-control using Student’s t-test). iNOS, inducible nitric oxide synthase; COX, cyclooxygenase; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; IL, interleukin.