Figure 4
IL-17 derived from SSc patients induces collagen production in fibroblasts. (A) IL-17 concentration in sera of patients with active SSc (n = 13), patients with stable SSc (n = 32), and healthy controls (n = 24). (B) PBMCs from patients with active SSc (n = 6), patients with stable SSc (n = 6), and healthy controls (n = 6) were stimulated for 5 hours with PMA and ionomycin, and IL-17 in the supernatant was measured with ELISA. (C) Fibroblasts were stimulated for 48 hours with supernatants from cultures of PI-stimulated PBMCs from healthy controls (Control) or, supernatants from cultures of PI-stimulated PBMCs from patients with active SSc (Active), and neutralization of IL-17 (α-IL-17), and the gene expression of collagen 1 and collagen 3 was measured by real-time RT-PCR analysis. Results shown are representative of at least three independent experiments. (D) Fibroblasts were stimulated for 48 hours with supernatants from cultures of PI-stimulated PBMCs from healthy controls (Control) or, supernatants from cultures of PI-stimulated PBMCs from patients with active SSc (Active), and neutralization of IL-17 (α-IL-17), and the levels of collagen 1 and collagen 3 in the supernatants were determined with ELISA. Results shown are representative of at least three independent experiments.