Figure 2

Intra-articular injection of the NBD peptide at the onset of disease ameliorates arthritis. (a) Dose-finding experiments. To determine the optimal dose of the NBD peptide for amelioration of arthritis, animals (n = 6/group) were treated intra-articularly at the onset of arthritis (day 10) and 2 days later (day 12) with either 50 or 150 μg of the peptides or vehicle. Paw swelling was measured by water displacement plethysmometry until the animals were sacrificed at day 20. Data represent mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM) paw swelling (p < 0.05). (b) To evaluate the effect of the NBD peptide on clinical arthritis compared with the mutant NBD (MUT) control peptide, animals (n = 15/group) were treated intra-articularly at the onset of arthritis (day 10) and 2 days later (day 12) with 150 μg of the peptides. Paw swelling was measured by water displacement plethysmometry until the animals were sacrificed at day 20. Data represent mean ± SEM paw swelling (p < 0.0001). (c) Results of the 'area under the curve' (AUC) calculation of the experiments displayed in (b) (*p < 0.0001).