VEGFA and rheumatoid arthritis: In the present study, our data showed that triptolide could suppress the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, VEGF in sera of CIA rats and the IL-1β-induced upregulation of TNF-α, IL-17, VEGF, VEGFR, Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie2 in HFLS–RA, suggesting the inhibitory effect of triptolide on the VEGF-mediated signal pathway.