Gastrodia elata attenuates inflammatory response by inhibiting the NF-kappa B pathway in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes

Gastrodia elata (GE), which belongs to the Orchidaceae family, was found to possess anti-inflammatory activity. However, the effect of GE on inflammatory response in rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) remains largely unknown. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of GE on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)-induced inflammatory response in RA-FLS and the underlying molecular mechanism was also explored. Our results demonstrated that GE significantly attenuated TNF-alpha- induced IL-6 and IL-8 production in RA-FLS. GE also inhibited TNF-alpha-induced MMP-3 and MMP-13 expression in RA-FLS. Furthermore, pretreatment with GE significantly attenuated TNF-alpha-induced the expression of p-p65 and I kappa B alpha degradation in RA-FLS. In conclusion, this study demonstrated for the first time that GE attenuated inflammatory response by inhibiting the NF-kappa B pathway signaling in RA-FLS. Thus, GE might have a therapeutic potential towards the treatment of RA. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.