Clinical Research and Basic Study on Effect of Huangqin Qingre Chubi Capsule （黄芩清热除痹胶囊） on Self-Perception of Patients and Immune Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis
10.13288/j.11-2166/r.2026.05.013
- VernacularTitle:黄芩清热除痹胶囊对类风湿关节炎患者感受和免疫炎症影响的临床及基础研究
- Author:
Fanfan WANG
1
;
Jian LIU
1
;
Qin ZHOU
1
;
Jianting WEN
1
;
Yue SUN
1
;
Mingyu HE
1
Author Information
1. The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine/Anhui Provincial Key Laboratory for Applied Basic and Clinical Translational Research of Traditional Chinese Medicine Rheumatology，Hefei，230031
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
rheumatoid arthritis;
self-perception of patients;
immune response;
inflammatory response;
Huangqin Qingre Chubi Capsule （黄芩清热除痹胶囊）
- From:
Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine
2026;67(5):544-556
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo evaluate the comprehensive intervention effects of Huangqin Qingre Chubi Capsule （黄芩清热除痹胶囊， HQC） on self-perception of patients （SPP） and immune inflammation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis （RA）， and to explore its potential mechanisms. MethodsClinical data of 452 RA patients were retrospectively collected. Patients were divided into a control group （274 cases）， treated with conventional western medicine， and an observation group （178 cases）， treated with HQC for at least 2 weeks in addition to conventional western medicine. The treatment duration was 2 weeks for both groups. Propensity score matching （PSM） was performed at a ratio of 1∶1 to match patients between groups. SPP including the Chinese version of the short form-36 health survey （SF-36）， self-rating anxiety scale （SAS）， self-rating depression scale （SDS）， visual analog scale （VAS）， and Chinese patient-reported index for rheumatoid arthritis （CPRI-RA）， as well as immune inflammatory indicators， including erythrocyte sedimentation rate （ESR）， high-sensitivity C-reactive protein （hs-CRP）， rheumatoid factor （RF）， anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide antibody （anti-CCP）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， immunoglobulin A （IgA）， immunoglobulin G （IgG）， immunoglobulin M （IgM）， complement C3， and complement C4， were collected before and after treatment. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the relationships between SPP and immune inflammatory indicators. Logistic regression， association rule analysis， and mediation analysis were performed to evaluate the effects and potential pathways of HQC on SPP and immune inflammatory indicators. Network pharmacology was applied to identify the active components and core targets of HQC in the treatment of RA， followed by molecular docking verification. In cell experiments， cells were divided into normal group， model group， 20% medicated serum group， and 80 nmol/L control group. Human synovial fibroblasts （FLS） were cultured with complete medium in the normal group， while human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes （RA-FLS） were cultured in the model group. In the 20% medicated serum group， RA-FLS were cultured with medium containing 20% HQC-medicated serum， and in the 80 nmol/L control group， RA-FLS were cultured with complete medium containing 80 nmol/L methotrexate suspension. After 48 h of culture， cell viability was detected by cell counting kit-8 （CCK-8） assay. Levels of interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， interleukin-8 （IL-8）， and interleukin-10 （IL-10） in the cell supernatant were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay （ELISA）. Protein levels of matrix metalloproteinase 9 （MMP9）， transcription factor AP-1 subunit （JUN）， vascular endothelial growth factor A （VEGFA）， and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 （CXCL8） were detected by Western Blot， and cell migration ability was evaluated using Transwell assay. ResultsAfter PSM， 178 cases were included in each group. After treatment， SF-36 scores increased， while scores of SAS， SDS， VAS and CPRI-RA， levels of ESR， hs-CRP， IL-6， complement C3， and complement C4 levels decreased in both groups； IgG and IgM levels were also reduced in the observation group （P＜0.05）. Physical functioning （correlation coefficient -0.19， P＜0.05） and social functioning （correlation coefficient -0.18， P＜0.05） of SF-36 were negatively correlated with hs-CRP， while VAS score was positively correlated with hs-CRP （correlation coefficient 0.19， P＜0.05）. HQC showed high associations with improvements in multiple indicators of SPP and immune inflammatory， and acted as a protective factor for the improvement of several SPP； hs-CRP and ESR played partial mediating roles in the improvement of SPP induced by HQC （P＜0.05）. Network pharmacology analysis identified baicalein， quercetin， α1-sitosterol， β-sitosterol， stigmasterol， baicalin， and crocetin as the core active components， and JUN， IL-6， VEGFA， MMP9， IL-1β， and CXCL8 as the core targets. Molecular docking results showed strong binding affinities of quercetin with VEGFA， JUN， MMP9， IL-6， and IL-1β， of baicalin with VEGFA and MMP9， and of wogonin with CXCL8. Cell experiments demonstrated that HQC and methotrexate inhibited RA-FLS viability and migration， reduced levels of IL-1β， IL-6， and IL-8， decreased protein levels of MMP9， JUN， VEGFA， and CXCL8， and increased IL-10 levels （P＜0.05）. ConclusionHQC can improve SPP in RA by regulating immune inflammatory responses. Its mechanism may be related to multi-pathway and multi-target inhibition of synovial cell inflammation and migration.
