Neoisoastilbin Ameliorates Acute Gouty Arthritis via Suppression of the NF-κB/NLRP3 Pathway

Abstract

Acute gouty arthritis (AGA) is an acute inflammatory disease, whose occurrence and development mechanism are associated with inflammatory reaction of joint tissue. This study investigated the role of neoisoastilbin (NIA) in the treatment of AGA and explored the underlying mechanisms. C57BL/6 mice underwent intraarticular injection of monosodium urate (MSU) to establish an AGA model in vivo. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, histopathological hematoxylin-eosin staining, western blotting, and other methods were used to observe the therapeutic effects of NIA on AGA and investigate the role of the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway in the treatment. We found that NIA effectively reduced MSU-induced joint swelling and inflammatory cell infiltration in a concentration-dependent manner. NIA also significantly reduced interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels as compared with the respective values in the model mice group. In addition, administration of NIA significantly mitigated the phosphorylation of NF-κB-related proteins (IKKα, NF-κB, and IκBα) and the expression of NLRP3-related proteins (NLRP3, caspase-1, and ASC) in MSU-induced joint tissues. In conclusion, our research indicated that NIA significantly improved AGA, and its underlying mechanism was achieved by simultaneously inhibiting the NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway and the expression of inflammatory factors. This research preliminarily suggested the potential role of NIA in the treatment of AGA.