Figure 5From: Increased frequency of Th17 cells in systemic sclerosis is related to disease activity and collagen overproductionTh17 cells contribute to fibroblast proliferation and collage production. (A) Fibroblasts were stimulated for 48 hours with supernatants from cultures of PI-stimulated Th17 cells from patients with active SSc (Active) or healthy controls (Control) in the presence or absence of IL-17-neutralizing antibody, and the gene expression of collagen 1 and collagen 3 was analyzed with real-time RT-PCR analysis (n = 5 for each group). (B) Fibroblasts were stimulated for 48 hours with supernatants from cultures of PI-stimulated Th17 cells from patients with active SSc (Active) or healthy controls (Control) in the presence or absence of IL-17-neutralizing antibody, and the levels of collagen 1 and collagen 3 in the supernatants were determined with ELISA (n = 5 for each group).Back to article page