Fig. 3
Effect of DK226 on antigen-induced arthritis (AIA) in rat knee joints. a Effects of intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) (0.5 mg), DK226 (0.5 mg HA-equiv, 30 nmol MTX-equiv), or oral methotrexate (MTX) (1.25/mg/kg) on knee swelling. b Hematological parameters of AIA treated with intra-articular DK226 or oral MTX. Blood samples were collected at 24 h after treatment on day 14. c MTX plasma profiles following intra-articular DK226 or oral MTX on day 14. Inserted figure is a magnified view of the MTX plasma concentration after intra-articular DK226. Plasma concentrations of MTX were measured with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). d Effects on knee swelling of intra-articular injections of HA (0.5 mg), MTX (25 nmol), mixture of HA (0.5 mg) and MTX (25 nmol), and DK226 (0.5 mg HA-equiv, 25 nmol MTX-equiv). Values are means and standard error of the mean (SEM) (n = 7 in a and b; n = 4 in c; n = 6–8 in d). *P < 0.01: significantly different from HA group (Student’s t test). # P < 0.05: significantly different from Vehicle group (Student’s t test)