Abstract
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic and chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease characterized by severe synovial hyperplasia associated with progressive cartilage degradation. Due to the severe pain and disability caused by RA, effective therapeutic strategies that could simultaneously alleviate the inflammatory response and delay the disease progression are urgently needed. As a major alternative therapy in traditional Chinese medicine, moxibustion has been demonstrated that it could reduce the chronic inflammatory responses of a series of musculoskeletal diseases; however, whether moxibustion has protective effects on RA is still unclear. To investigate the effects of moxibustion on RA, moxibustion was applied to Zusanli (ST36) and Shenshu (BL23) acupoints in a RA rabbit model. HE staining of articular cartilage showed that moxibustion alleviated the cartilage degradation and bone destruction. In addition, moxibustion decreased the osteoclast number in RA rabbits. Real-time PCR revealed that moxibustion decreased the expression of RANKL mRNA while increased the expression of OPG mRNA, indicating a restoration of the balance between osteogenesis and osteoclastogenesis. Taken together, our results indicated that moxibustion had promising antiarthritic effects and could be an useful alternative method in RA therapeutics.
Highlights
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, and complicated autoimmune osteopathic disease
A rabbit model of RA was established by injection of Freund’s Complete Adjuvant (FCA) into the knee, as described in previous study [18]
We found that moxibustion of Zusanli (ST36) and Shenshu (BL23) acupoints alleviated the pathological progression of RA
Summary
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, systemic, and complicated autoimmune osteopathic disease. Its enigmatic pathogenesis is characterized by persistent synovitis and progressive cartilage degradation and bone erosion, leading to severe disability over time [1]. The goal of RA treatment is to remission or reduce disease activity, slowing or preventing the progression of joint destruction. Bone erosion is the most prominent feature of RA and is highly correlated with disease progression and functional outcome. Bone erosion results from the disturbed balance between bone resorption and bone formation, which has been arbitrated upon the initiation of osteoclastogenesis by activating osteoclast [4]. The osteoclast has become widely recognized as the cell responsible for bone erosions and is required for articular bone resorption in RA [5].
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