Abstract

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease that mainly affects the synovial joints. Although involvement of the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling pathway has been suggested as an important modulator in RA development, no clear evidence has been provided. In this study, we found that synovial fluid basic FGF (bFGF) concentration was significantly higher in RA than in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. bFGF stimulates proliferation and migration of human fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) by activation of the bFGF-FGF receptor 3 (FGFR3)-ribosomal S6 kinase 2 (RSK2) signaling axis. Moreover, a molecular docking study revealed that kaempferol inhibited FGFR3 activity by binding to the active pocket of the FGFR3 kinase domain. Kaempferol forms hydrogen bonds with the FGFR3 backbone oxygen of Glu555 and Ala558 and the side chain of Lys508. Notably, the inhibition of bFGF-FGFR3–RSK2 signaling by kaempferol suppresses the proliferation and migration of RA FLSs and the release of activated T-cell-mediated inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-17, IL-21, and TNF-α. We further found that activated phospho-FGFR3 and -RSK2 were more highly observed in RA than in OA synovium. The hyperplastic lining and sublining lymphoid aggregate layers of RA synovium showed p-RSK2-expressing CD68+ macrophages with high frequency, while pRSK2-expressing CD4+ T-cells was observed at a lower frequency. Notably, kaempferol administration in collagen-induced arthritis mice relieved the frequency and severity of arthritis. Kaempferol reduced osteoclast differentiation in vitro and in vivo relative to the controls and was associated with the inhibition of osteoclast markers, such as tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, integrin β3, and MMP9. Conclusively, our data suggest that bFGF-induced FGFR3–RSK2 signaling may play a critical role during the initiation and progression of RA in terms of FLS proliferation and enhanced osteoclastogenesis, and that kaempferol may be effective as a new treatment for RA.

Details

Title
Kaempferol targeting on the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3-ribosomal S6 kinase 2 signaling axis prevents the development of rheumatoid arthritis
Author
Cheol-Jung, Lee 1 ; Su-Jin, Moon 2 ; Jeong-Hee Jeong 3 ; Lee, Sangbae 4 ; Mee-Hyun, Lee 5 ; Sun-Mi, Yoo 1 ; Lee, Hye Suk 1 ; Han Chang Kang 1   VIAFID ORCID Logo  ; Joo Young Lee 1 ; Weon Sun Lee 6 ; Hee-Jin, Lee 6 ; Kim, Eun-Kyung 3 ; Joo-Yeon Jhun 3 ; Mi-La Cho 3 ; Jun-Ki, Min 2 ; Yong-Yeon Cho 1 

 Integrated Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences & BK21 PLUS Team for Creative Leader Program for Pharmacomics-based Future Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, The Catholic University of Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea 
 Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Division for Rheumatology, The Catholic University of Korea, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea; The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, The Catholic University of Korea, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 
 The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, The Catholic University of Korea, Seocho-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea 
 Division of Immunology, Beckman Research Institute of the City of Hope, Duarte, CA, USA 
 Integrated Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences & BK21 PLUS Team for Creative Leader Program for Pharmacomics-based Future Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, The Catholic University of Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea; China-US(Henan) Hormel Cancer Institute, Zhengzhou, Henan, China 
 Clinical Medicine Research Institute of Bucheon St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea 
Pages
1-21
Publication year
2018
Publication date
Mar 2018
Publisher
Springer Nature B.V.
e-ISSN
20414889
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2019463624
Copyright
© 2018. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.