Rufino Ana T, Freitas Marisa, Proença Carina, Ferreira de Oliveira José M P, Fernandes Eduarda, Ribeiro Daniela
LAQV, REQUIMTE, Laboratory of Applied Chemistry, Department of Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Faculty of Agrarian Sciences and Environment, University of the Azores, Açores, Portugal.
Med Res Rev. 2024 Mar;44(2):497-538. doi: 10.1002/med.21990. Epub 2023 Aug 21.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a progressive, chronic, autoimmune, inflammatory, and systemic condition that primarily affects the synovial joints and adjacent tissues, including bone, muscle, and tendons. The World Health Organization recognizes RA as one of the most prevalent chronic inflammatory diseases. In the last decade, there was an expansion on the available RA therapeutic options which aimed to improve patient's quality of life. Despite the extensive research and the emergence of new therapeutic approaches and drugs, there are still significant unwanted side effects associated to these drugs and still a vast number of patients that do not respond positively to the existing therapeutic strategies. Over the years, several references to the use of flavonoids in the quest for new treatments for RA have emerged. This review aimed to summarize the existing literature about the flavonoids' effects on the major pathogenic/molecular targets of RA and their potential use as lead compounds for the development of new effective molecules for RA treatment. It is demonstrated that flavonoids can modulate various players in synovial inflammation, regulate immune cell function, decrease synoviocytes proliferation and balance the apoptotic process, decrease angiogenesis, and stop/prevent bone and cartilage degradation, which are all dominant features of RA. Although further investigation is necessary to determine the effectiveness of flavonoids in humans, the available data from in vitro and in vivo models suggest their potential as new disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs. This review highlights the use of flavonoids as a promising avenue for future research in the treatment of RA.
类风湿性关节炎（RA）是一种进行性、慢性、自身免疫性、炎症性全身性疾病，主要影响滑膜关节及相邻组织，包括骨骼、肌肉和肌腱。世界卫生组织将RA认定为最常见的慢性炎症性疾病之一。在过去十年中，可用于治疗RA的选择有所增加，目的是改善患者的生活质量。尽管进行了广泛研究，并且出现了新的治疗方法和药物，但这些药物仍存在严重的不良副作用，而且仍有大量患者对现有治疗策略没有积极反应。多年来，已有一些关于使用黄酮类化合物寻求RA新治疗方法的文献。本综述旨在总结现有关于黄酮类化合物对RA主要致病/分子靶点的作用及其作为开发治疗RA新有效分子的先导化合物的潜在用途的文献。结果表明，黄酮类化合物可调节滑膜炎症中的多种因素，调节免疫细胞功能，减少滑膜细胞增殖并平衡凋亡过程，减少血管生成，阻止/预防骨骼和软骨降解，而这些都是RA的主要特征。尽管需要进一步研究以确定黄酮类化合物对人类的有效性，但来自体外和体内模型的现有数据表明它们有潜力成为新型改善病情抗风湿药物。本综述强调了黄酮类化合物作为未来RA治疗研究的一个有前景途径的用途。
