Figure 4

Inter-individual mRNA expression variances in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) compared with normal control (NC). The graph shows genes affected by significant intra-group inter-individual mRNA expression variances in RA compared with NC (P ≤ 0.05; Bonferroni/Holm corrected Brown-Forsythe version of the Levene test; labeled in red) in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) MAPK signaling pathway. Among the three MAPK family sub-pathways, the classical and the c-jun kinase (JNK)/p38 MAPK sub-pathways were significantly affected by gene expression variances (P ≤ 0.15, χ² test; indicated in red). MAPK-regulated cellular processes with potential influence on or relevance for RA pathogenesis (for example, proliferation, inflammation, and anti-apoptosis) are labeled in blue.