0.1 Terahertz irradiation alleviates rheumatoid arthritis and exerts immunomodulatory effects in CIA mice

This study investigated the systemic effects of 0.1 THz irradiation on the inflammatory status of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model. It was found that THz irradiation apparently alleviated the symptoms of arthritis in CIA mice, reducing the joint swelling, mitigating the tissue damage and relieving the expression of pro-inflammatory factors (TNF-?, IL-6, RANKL and MMPs) in the swollen joint of the CIA mice. Moreover, the reduction of serum inflammatory cytokines levels together with the reduced CD4+ T cell count and the recovered percentage of regulatory T cells (Treg) indicated that THz irradiation exerted a systemic immunoregulatory activity in CIA mice. The blood leukocyte mRNA-seq GO analysis also enriched several biological processes including the differentiation and adhesion of leukocytes, lymphocyte differentiation and T cell activation, providing additional supporting evidence for the immunoregulatory effects of THz. Overall design: Total 60 7-week-old male DBA/1 mice were divided into three groups randomly, the control group (Ctrl, C), the CIA model group (CIA, M) and the CIA with THz irradiation group (CIA+THz, F). when the CIA model established, the swollen joint of mice were treated with 0.1Thz wave for 14 days. leukocyte obtained from blood of mice were performed to RNAseq.