Blocking the Sphingosine-1-Phosphate Receptor 2 (S1P) Reduces the Severity of Collagen-Induced Arthritis in DBA-1J Mice.

The amount of sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) found in the synovial tissue of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis is five times greater than that in those with osteoarthritis. Our study aims to determine whether inhibiting S1P can mitigate collagen-induced rheumatoid arthritis (CIA) by using an S1P antagonist, JTE-013, alongside DBA-1J wild-type (WT) and knock-out (KO) mice. CIA causes increases in arthritis scores, foot swelling, synovial hyperplasia, pannus formation, proteoglycan depletion, cartilage damage, and bone erosion, but these effects are markedly reduced when JTE-013 is administered to WT mice. CIA also elevates mRNA expression levels of pro-inflammatory Th1/Th17 cytokines in the foot and spleen, which are significantly decreased by JTE-013 in WT mice. Additionally, CIA raises Th1/Th17 and Treg cell counts, while JTE-013 reduces these elevations in the spleens of WT mice. Treatment with JTE-013 or the absence of curtails the differentiation of naïve T cells into Th1 and Th17 cells in a dose-dependent manner. In SW982 human synovial cells, JTE-013 lowers LPS-induced increases in pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. Overall, these findings propose that blocking S1P in immune and synovial cells may alleviate rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and offer a potential therapeutic approach.