An improved acute gouty arthritis rat model and therapeutic effect of rhizoma Dioscoreae nipponicae on acute gouty arthritis based on the protein-chip methods.

Rhizoma Dioscoreae nipponicae (RDN) is an herbal medicine. In the theories of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the function of RDN is to expel wind and remove dampness. Inflammatory mechanisms play an important role in the pathological process and prognosis of acute gouty arthritis (AGA). The aim of this study was to determine the specially expressed proteins through testing the proteins of the synovium in rats with AGA. The animal model of AGA was set up by Monosodium urate crystal (MSU) combined with hypoxanthine (HX), which was ameliorated in our previous experiment. Blood samples for measurement of serum uric acid were collected prior to sacrifice. Outcomes were assessed (two days after injection) by histological stain and protein quantitation. Three chips of RayBio® Human Label-based Antibody Array I were applied to detect 90 proteins in the synovium tissue of AGA rats. 14 differently expressed proteins were found in the synovium of AGA rats, and nine of them were first found in this model. There were seven up-regulated and seven down-regulated proteins, both TRAIL and Neuropilin-2 could be identified as key contributors to the pathomechanism of AGA.