Bavachin suppresses NF-κB signaling and angiogenic pathways to alleviate rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory joint disorder that primarily affects females. Estrogen deficiency plays a key role in its development, prompting interest in phytoestrogens as safer alternatives to synthetic estrogen therapies. Our previous in-silico analysis identified Bavachin (BVN) as a potent phytoestrogen capable of targeting the NF-κB complex. This study investigates the therapeutic and mechanistic effects of BVN in mitigating the pathogenesis and inflammation associated with RA. BVN treatment significantly reduced the levels of key inflammatory markers, including IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and NF-κB p65, in RA fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS). Additionally, BVN demonstrated a protective effect by significantly decreasing the expression of cell adhesion and angiogenesis factors, such as VTN, SPARC, VEGF, and Cadherin, in TNF-α-induced synovial cells and RA-FLS, as assessed using Western blotting and immunocytochemistry assays. BVN also affected the binding of VTN and SPARC protein, inhibiting angiogenic progression. The therapeutic effects of BVN were confirmed via in vivo studies using a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) rat model. Treatment with BVN significantly reduced paw inflammation, arthritic scores, immune cell infiltration, and plasma levels of IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α while also decreasing the deposition of VTN and SPARC in the rat synovial tissues. Our findings thus suggest that BVN has the potential to serve as a natural therapy for managing RA pathogenesis and reducing associated inflammation.