Parthenolide inhibits proliferation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes in vitro.

Parthenolide is a bioactive constituent of an aromatic herb Feverfew (Tanacetum parthenium). It has been found that both parthenolide and extract of feverfew have anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive properties. Moreover, they demonstrate antiproliferative activities on different human tumour cells. The massive hyperplasia of synovial fibroblasts is the one of the most striking features of rheumatoid arthritis. It is not known whether this is due to the proliferation of synovial fibroblasts or to defective apoptosis. We investigated the effect of parthenolide on the proliferation of rabbit synoviocytes cell line HIG-82, rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes (RA-FLS) and human skin fibroblasts (HSF) in vitro. Cell proliferation was assessed by means of 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and 5'-bromo-2'-deoxy-uridine methods. Parthenolide inhibited proliferation of HIG-82 and human RA-FLS. The proliferation of HSF was inhibited less effectively. The antiproliferative potential of parthenolide was demonstrated.