Chenopodium quinoa Willd Triterpenoid Alleviated Rheumatoid Arthritis through Inhibiting the Proliferation of Tumor-Like Synovial Fibroblast

GUO Huiqin¹, LI Songtao², LI Xuxia³, LI Zhuoyu², LIU Dan², WU Haili³*, ZHANG Liyun¹*

(¹Shanxi Bethune Hospital, Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Third Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Tongji Shanxi Hospital, Taiyuan 030032, China; ²Institute of Biotechnology, the Key Laboratory of Chemical Biology and Molecular Engineering of Ministry of Education, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030000, China; ³College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030000, China)

Abstract:

This work was to investigate the potential therapeutic effects of the CQWT (Chenopodium quinoa Willd triterpenoid) on RA (rheumatoid arthritis). Here, the cell proliferation of RA-FLS (rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes) was evaluated using CCK8 and EdU assays, and clonogenic capacity was assessed by colony formation assays. Apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry, and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins was determined through Western blot. The effects of CQWT on RA-FLS migration and invasion were examined using wound healing and Transwell assays, while the expression of EMT (epithelial-mesenchymal transition)-related markers was analyzed by qPCR and Western blot. Inflammatory cytokine secretion was measured through ELISA. In addition, a CIA (collagen-induced arthritis) mouse model was established to evaluate the effects of CQWT on arthritis severity, serum inflammatory cytokine levels, and synovial pathological alterations. In vitro results demonstrated that CQWT significantly inhibited RA-FLS proliferation and colony formation and induced apoptosis through upregulation the Caspase-3 expression. Meanwhile, RA-FLS migration and invasion were markedly suppressed by CQWT, accompanied by increased E-cadherin expression and decreased expression of N-cadherin and Vimentin. Furthermore, the secretion of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β in RA-FLS was significantly reduced following CQWT treatment. In vivo, CQWT administration significantly decreased arthritis scores in CIA mice, suppressed serum inflammatory cytokine levels, and alleviated synovial hyperplasia and joint pathological damage, thereby ameliorating RA progression. In conclusion, triterpenoid compounds derived from quinoa bran were shown to ameliorate RA-associated pathological progression through inhibiting abnormal RA-FLS proliferation, migration, and invasion, inducing apoptosis, and attenuating inflammatory responses. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the potential application of quinoa-derived triterpenoids in RA prevention and intervention.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2026.04.0006