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Fig. 4 | Arthritis Research & Therapy

Fig. 4

From: In vitro eradication of citrullinated protein specific B-lymphocytes of rheumatoid arthritis patients by targeted bifunctional nanoparticles

Fig. 4

β60-74Cit and CNNQK peptide-coated bifunctional NPs suppress ex vivo synthesis of β60-74Cit specific antibodies in the presence of active complement in human sera. a PBMCs from RA patients (n = 17, ELISA ratios for β60-74Cit between 6 and 21) and b from healthy donors (n = 5) were stimulated with the TLR7/TLR8 agonist, R848, and IL-2 for 72 hours, and then the bifunctional NPs were added to the harvested cells followed by normal human sera (NHS) or heat-inactivated NHS (iNHS) at different concentrations. The number of β60-74Cit-specific IgG-producing plasma cells was counted by ELISPot. c Individual data of RA patients at 10 % iNHS and NHS are shown. d Representative ELISpot images. Statistics: a, c analyzed with paired t test, means ± SD are shown (**p <0.01, ***p <0.001). ACPA anti-citrullinated protein antibody, PBMC peripheral blood mononuclear cell, RA rheumatoid arthritis, H healthy

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