Figure 4

Presence of CXCL12 RNA and CXCR4⁺ cells in the arthritic joint. (a) Synovia of three collagen type II/complete Freund's adjuvant-immunized collagen-induced arthritic (CIA) mice and three naive mice were isolated on day 35 after immunization and total RNA was purified. Reverse-transcription was performed and cDNA was subjected to quantitative PCR and normalized to the amount of 18S RNA. (b) Joints of three other collagen type II/complete Freund's adjuvant-immunized mice were washed at day 35 with PBS/FCS 2%. Cells that were harvested from the joint were stained for the presence of CD11b using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-labeled antibodies, and for CXCR4 using phycoerythrin (PE)-labeled antibodies. (c) Control staining for CXCR4 using a PE-labeled rat IgG2b isotype control antibody. One representative experiment out of two is shown.