{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,21]],"date-time":"2026-09-21T18:47:01Z","timestamp":1790016421728,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]],"date-time":"2025-10-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759363200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Korea government","award":["NRF-2022R1F1A1067358"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["NRF-2022R1F1A1067358"]}]},{"name":"Research Fund of Seoul St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.mdpi.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Gout is a form of sterile inflammatory arthritis in which monosodium urate (MSU) crystals deposit and provoke a neutrophil-predominant response, primarily driven by activation of the NACHT, leucine-rich repeat, and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome. Here, we show that auranofin, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved anti-rheumatic agent, exerts anti-inflammatory effects in both in vitro and in vivo models of gout. Auranofin inhibited NLRP3 inflammasome activation in human THP-1 cells and murine macrophages, leading to reduced cleavage of caspase-1, interleukin-1\u03b2 (IL-1\u03b2), and interleukin-18 (IL-18). In MSU crystal-induced mouse models, auranofin treatment reduced paw swelling, serum cytokine levels, and tissue inflammation. Notably, auranofin suppressed neutrophil migration and decreased expression of C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 1 (CXCL1) in inflamed foot tissue and air-pouch exudates. Mechanistically, auranofin disrupted the interleukin-33 (IL-33)\/suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2) axis, a key signaling pathway promoting neutrophil recruitment. Overexpression of IL-33 abolished the anti-inflammatory effects of auranofin, highlighting the central role of IL-33 in gout pathogenesis. Together, our findings suggest that auranofin alleviates MSU-induced inflammation by concurrently inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation and IL-33-mediated neutrophil recruitment, supporting its potential as a dual-action therapeutic candidate for gout.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells14191541","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]],"date-time":"2025-10-02T15:07:48Z","timestamp":1759417668000},"page":"1541","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Auranofin Ameliorates Gouty Inflammation by Suppressing NLRP3 Activation and Neutrophil Migration via the IL-33\/ST2\u2013CXCL1 Axis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Hyeyeon","family":"Yoo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahyoung","family":"Choi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Minjun","family":"Kim","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yongseok","family":"Gye","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hyeonju","family":"Jo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Department of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6142-8364","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Seung-Ki","family":"Kwok","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1198-4538","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Youngjae","family":"Park","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6873-6629","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jennifer Jooha","family":"Lee","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Rheumatism Research Center, Catholic Research Institute of Medical Science, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"},{"name":"Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary\u2019s Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"325","DOI":"10.1038\/ni.2231","article-title":"Sensing and reacting to microbes through the inflammasomes","volume":"13","author":"Franchi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Nat. 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