In a type II collagen-induced arthritis rat model, MT exerted its anti-arthritis effects via down-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines and proteins (IL-6, IL-8, IL-1β, IL-17A, and TNF-α) and down-regulation of NF-κB (Pu et al., 2016). This evidence concerns the gene CXCL8 and arthritic joint disease.