Abstract: [Abstract]  Objective   To investigate the effect of tripterine on wear particle-induced inflammatory reaction by cell culture in vitro. Methods  Wear particles from artificial joints were prepared by vacuum ball milling, and made into particle suspension by using serum-free medium. RAW264.7 cells were cultured, subcultured and divided randomly into four groups according to different treatment factors: blank control group (group A), wear particle group (group B), wear particle + tripterine group (group C) and tripterine group (group D). After 24 hours, toxicity of tripterine was detected by CCK-8 assay; ELISA was used to detect the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) ; RT-PCR was used to detect the expressions of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and nuclear factor-κB (NF-κ B) at the level of gene;Western blot was used to detect the expression of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κ B) at the level of protein. Results  The results showed 1μg/ml tripterine was little cytotoxic；the expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines and the activation of NF-κB in wear particle group were significantly higher than those in blank control group (P＜0.05)，and the indexes after the treatment with tripterine (group C)decreased statistically (P＜0.05). Conclusion  Tripterine can inhibit the wear particle-induced expression and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines at the level of gene and protein and the activation of NF-κB in RAW264.7 cells.

Key words: tripterygium, joints, macrophages, inflammation, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, NF-kappa B, 雷公藤红素