Figure 3

Effects on spleen cell proliferation and CII Ab production. (a) Spleen cell proliferation. Spleen cells were isolated from mice on day 42, stimulated with type II collagen (CII) (50 μg/ml) and cultured for 72 h. Cell number was measured by a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and expressed as percentage of cells derived from control animals. Histograms represent mean ± standard error of the mean (n = 5/group; the asterisk indicates p < 0.001 versus control; the hash symbol indicates p < 0.01 versus collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice without treatment. (b) Serum anti-CII antibody (Ab) levels. Ab concentrations in the serum (day 42) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Histograms represent the mean ± standard error of the mean (n = 10/group; the asterisk indicates p < 0.001 versus control; the hash symbol indicates p < 0.01 versus CIA mice without treatment).