The protective effects of Phoenixin-20 in tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)-induced cell senescence of rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS)

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an age-related joint destruction disease that markedly impacts the normal life of patients. Currently, the clinical treatment strategies are far from satisfactory with severe side effects. Cellular senescence of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) has been reported to be involved in the pathological process of arthritis, which may provide an important research direction for RA treatment. Phoenixin-20 (PNX-20) is a peptide targeting G-protein-coupled receptor 173 (GPR173) with promising anti-inflammatory properties. Our study will probe into the function of PNX-20 on tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α)- induced rheumatoid arthritis (RA) FLS cell senescence to provide a theoretical basis for treating RA with PNX-20. RA-FLSs were handled with 10 ng/mL TNF-α, followed by introducing Phoenixin-20 (10, 20 nM) or not for 7 days. Enhanced release of inflammatory cytokines, increased proportion of senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-gal) positive cells, and declined telomerase activity were all observed in TNF-α-treated RA-FLSs, accompanied by a noticeable decline in the p21 and p53 level, which were notably reversed by 10 and 20 nM PNX-20. Furthermore, the increased signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) level observed in TNF-α-treated RA-FLSs were signally repressed by PNX-20. Moreover, the impact of PNX-20 on TNF-α-induced cellular senescence in RA-FLSs was abrogated by the overexpression of STAT6. Collectively, PNX-20 protected the TNF-α-induced cell senescence in RA-FLSs by downregulating STAT6. Based on these findings, we speculate that PNX-20 might be a promising agent for the treatment of RA.