Sinomenine reduces invasion and migration ability in fibroblast-like synoviocytes cells co-cultured with activated human monocytic THP-1 cells by inhibiting the expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, CD147

CD147 expressed by monocytes, macrophages, and synoviocytes cells can stimulate the production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) associated with the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We investigated the effects of Sinomenine (SIN) on invasion and migration ability and gene expression of CD147, MMP-2, MMP-9 of fibroblast-like synoviocytes cells (FLS) co-cultured with activated human monocytic THP-1 cells (A-THP-1) in vitro. SIN is a pure alkaloid extracted from the Chinese medical plant Sinomenium acutum. FLS cells were co-cultured with THP-1 cells which were induced to differentiate into macrophages with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). Cells were treated with different concentrations of SIN. Invasion and migration ability of cells was tested by transwell assays. Western blot analysis and zymographic analysis were adopted to detect the expression of CD147 and MMPs, respectively. RT–PCR was used to determine the expression of mRNA of CD147, MMP-2, and MMP-9. The invasion and migration ability of the co-cultured cells was significantly inhibited by SIN in a concentration-dependent fashion, and at the same time, the levels of CD147, MMP-2, MMP-9 were markedly down-regulated. This inhibitory effect was most notable at concentrations of 0.25 and 1.00 mM (P < 0.01). Our results point to a possible mechanism of SIN on treatment of RA is the inhibitory effect of SIN on cell invasion and migration ability, which strongly correlates with repressing the expression of CD147, MMP-2, and MMP-9.