A novel anti-rheumatic drug suppresses tumor necrosis factor-α and augments interleukin-10 in adjuvant arthritic rats

Abstract Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an important role in the pathology of rheumatoid arthritis. When N -[1-(4-{[4-(pyrimidin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl]methyl}phenyl)cyclopropyl]acetamide (Y-39041) (3–30 mg/kg) was orally administered to rats with established arthritis from day 15 to day 20, hindpaw volume was significantly reduced. This inhibitory activity of Y-39041 was kept up after administration was stopped. On day 17 Y-39041 suppressed lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-α and interleukin-6 production in serum at doses of 3–30 mg/kg, and augmented interleukin-10 production at doses of 10 and 30 mg/kg. The finding that Y-39041 suppresses TNF-α and interleukin-6 production and augments interleukin-10 production could be beneficial in the therapy of chronic inflammatory diseases.