Figure 6

Effect of adrenomedullin on the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the infrapatellar fat pad. (a) Total number of inflammatory cells that infiltrated the infrapatellar fat pad (three sites in the superficial portion, three sites in the deep portion). The total number of inflammatory cells that infiltrated the infrapatellar fat pad was significantly reduced by 26% with daily intra-articular injections of 0.1 μg adrenomedullin (AM) on day 21. Daily intra-articular injections of 3 μg AM significantly suppressed the total number of inflammatory cells by 38% and 23% at day 8 and day 21, respectively. (b) Number of inflammatory cells that infiltrated the deep portion of the infrapatellar fat pad (three sites). Daily intra-articular injections of 3 μg AM significantly suppressed the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the deep portion of the infrapatellar fat pad by 49% and 54% at day 8 and day 21, respectively. Open and closed columns represent the data at day 8 (n = 5 in each group) and at day 21 (n = 3 in each group), respectively. Data expressed as the mean ± standard error of the mean. *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01, compared with contralateral knees.