Abstract
Background: Previous studies have shown that adiponectin (APN) is involved in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The proinflammatory effect of APN is mainly mediated adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1). The high expression of AdipoR1 have been suggested in RA synovial tissue. This study was aimed to investigate the effects of AdipoR1 in inflammation and bone erosion in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice, and to further explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods: The expression of APN and AdipoR1 in synovial tissue of RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patient was tested by qPCR and western blot. RA synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) were stimulated with APN, IL-6 or TNF-α respectively. The expression of AdipoR1 on RASFs were tested by flow cytometry. To prove the pathogenic role, AdipoR1 was silenced in a human rheumatoid arthritis synovial fibroblast cell line (MH7A) and local joint of CIA mice by specific short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) using a lentiviral delivery system. The levels of proliferation, apoptosis and inflammatory factors on MH7A were assessed in vitro. Local AdipoR1 knockdown on CIA mice were further estimated by arthritis clinical scores, inflammatory cytokine expression, micro-CT, H&E staining and receptor activator of nuclear factor к B ligand (RANKL) / osteoprotegerin (OPG) in vivo. Results: We found that the levels of APN and AdipoR1 expression were significantly higher in RASFs and the expression of AdipoR1 was upregulated by APN in RASFs. Silencing AdipoR1 could effectively reduce lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced proliferation of MH7A cells, promote their apoptosis, and reduce the release of inflammatory factors. In CIA mice, local silencing AdipoR1 in arthritis markedly reduced joint inflammation and alleviated bone erosion and osteoporosis in vivo. Furthermore, local silencing AdipoR1 inhibited receptor activator of nuclear factor к B ligand (RANKL) expression and decreased RANKL / osteoprotegerin (OPG) ratio in knees and ankles of CIA mice. Conclusions: This study suggests that AdipoR1 plays a key role in the development of RA and silencing AdipoR1 might be a new target for the clinical treatment of RA.