Figure 5

Protection against collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is not due to down-regulation of proinflammatory cytokines. Relative expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α (a, c) and IL-6 mRNA (b, d) in joints of DBA-lpr/lpr (white bars) and DBA-lpr/+ (filled bars) mice at the onset of disease (a, b) and at the chronic level of disease (c, d), as determined by real-time PCR. For measurement at the onset, the paws of the DBA-lpr/+ mice (n = 14) were harvested at 4 weeks. Those from DBA-lpr/lpr mice were harvested at 4 (n = 10) and 7 (n = 9) weeks; these were pooled for analysis, because they did not differ. For measurements during the chronic phase, paws of DBA-lpr/lpr (n = 9) and DBA-lpr/+ (n = 10) mice were harvested at 10–12 weeks. Significant differences were seen between the two groups at the onset of disease (*** P < 0.001).