Abstract:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease affecting diarthrodial joints. It is
characterized by erosive synovitis, cartilage and bone destruction, systemic complications
affecting 1% of the world population. Current treatment modalities for Rheumatoid arthritis,
though effective, but their use is limited by multiple side effects. Therefore, researchers are
exploring better and safer treatment options. Pro-inflammatory transcription factor, nuclearfactor-
kappa B (NF-κB) controls immune responses, proliferation and inflammation in
rheumatoid arthritis. Hypoxia is a hallmark of rheumatoid arthritis that occurs due to an
imbalance of oxygen supply and demand in the synovial tissue and results in the inflammation,
angiogenesis and even cell death. Therefore, NF-κB pathway induced gene Hypoxia-inducible
factor 1 alpha (Hif1-α) can be used as a therapeutic target in rheumatoid arthritis. This study
aimed to investigate the therapeutic efficacy of Biogenic Foeniculum vulgare derived selenium
nanoparticles to ameliorate oxidative stress and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis due to their
antioxidant potential. The selenium nanoparticles were synthesized using seed extract in which
sodium selenite was used as a precursor. The therapeutic potential of selenium nanoparticles to
target Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (Hif1-α) was checked by In Silico Molecular Docking
analysis in which Selenium was used as a Ligand and HIF1- alpha as a target protein. The
Arthritic mice model was successfully constructed using Collagenase type 2 and Freund’s
adjuvant to check the effectiveness of biogenic selenium nanoparticles. The results of In-silico
Molecular Docking showed that there is a binding affinity between Selenium nanoparticles and
Hif1-α. These results will be a step toward the further testing and evaluation of biogenic
Foeniculm vulgare derived selenium nanoparticles in wet lab to study their antioxidant and antiarthritic
potential in arthritic mice models and cell lines.
