Figure 5

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) western blot analysis in human rheumatoid arthritis fibroblast-like synoviocytes. Cells were cultured without agents (lanes 1 and 5, controls at 24 and 48 hours, respectively) or were incubated with 40 μM diosgenin for 24 hours (lane 2) or 48 hours (lane 3) or with IL-1β (1 ng/ml) for 24 hours (lane 4). Protein extracts prepared from the cells were subjected to western blotting and cellular expressions of COX-2 and β-actin were estimated using mouse anti-human COX-2 and β-actin antibodies, respectively, as described in Materials and methods. Each band was quantified by densitometry analysis software. One of three representative experiments from three different patients is shown.