Berberine Inhibits the gene Expression and Production of Proinflammatory Cytokines by Mononuclear cells in Rheumatoid Arthritis and Healthy Individuals.

OBJECTIVE Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most prevalent autoimmune arthritis. Berberine is an alkaloid isolated from Berberis vulgaris and its anti-inflammatory effect has been identified. METHOD Twenty newly diagnosed RA patients and 20 healthy controls participated. Peripheral mononuclear cells were prepared and stimulated with bacterial lipopolysachharide (LPS,1 µg/ml), exposed to different concentrations of berberine (10 and 50µM) and dexamethasone (10-7 M) as a reference. Toxicity of compounds was evaluated by WST-1 assay. Expression of TNF-α and IL-1β were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. Protein level of secreted TNF-α and IL1β were measured by using ELISA. RESULT Berberine did not have any toxic effect on cells, whereas Lipopolysachharide (LPS) stimulation caused a noticeable rise in TNF-α and IL-1β production. Berberine markedly downregulated the expression of both TNF-α and IL1β and inhibits TNF-α and IL-1β secretion from LPS-stimulated PBMCs. DISCUSSION This study provided molecular basis for anti-inflammatory effect of berberine on human mononuclear cells through the suppression of TNF-a and IL-1secretion. Our findings highlighted the significant inhibitory effect of berberine on proinflammatory responses of mononuclear cells from rheumatoid arthritis individuals, which may be responsible for antiinflammatory property of Barberry. We observed that berberine at high concentration exhibited anti-inflammatory effect in PBMCs of both healthy and patient groups by suppression of TNF-a and IL-1cytokines at both mRNA and protein levels. CONCLUSIONS Berberine may inhibit the gene expression and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines by mononuclear cells in rheumatoid arthritis and healthy individuals without affecting cells viability. Future studies with larger sample size is needed to prove the idea.