Abstract:To investigate the effects of aconitum diphtheriae on B10 cells and inflammatory cytokines in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) rats. MethodsForty SPF female Wistar rats were divided into blank control group, model group, low-dose group, high-dose group and positive control group. Except for the blank control group, rheumatoid arthritis model was established in other groups. After successful modeling, the model group was intragastric with normal saline, low-dose and high-dose groups were intragastric with 22.5 and 45 mg/kg diphtheria aconitum, positive control group was intragastric with 1 mg/kg Tripterygium wilfordii, 1 mL each time, once a day, for 4 weeks. HE staining was used to observe the histopathological changes of synovial tissues in each group. Immunohistochemical method was used to detect the expression of CD19 and CD5 on B10 cells in synovial tissues of each group. ELISA method was used to detect the serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-1β, IL-10 and IL-12. ResultsThe synovium of the model group had edema and a lot of fibrous tissue hyperplasia. The low dose group and the positive control group had a small amount of fibrous tissue hyperplasia. The high dose group had slight edema and no fibrous hyperplasia. The expressions of CD5 and CD19 protein in model group were higher than those in the blank control group (P<0.05), and the expressions of CD5 and CD19 protein in low dose group, high dose group and positive control group were lower than those in the model group (P<0.05). The expressions of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-1β in the model group were increased compared with the blank control group (P<0.05), The expressions of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12 and IL-1β in low dose group, high dose group and positive control group were lower than those in the model group (P<0.05). ConclusionAconite diphtheria may reduce the inflammatory response of RA synovial tissue by regulating B10 cells.