Fig. 2

Leucine-rich alpha 2 glycoprotein (LRG) deficiency results in impaired differentiation of T helper (Th)-17 cells after induction of arthritis. a Representative macroscopic images (left), the weight (middle) and the cell number (right) of inguinal lymph nodes in wild-type (WT) mice (n = 16) and LRG knockout (LRG KO) mice (n = 16) with or without arthritis induction (day 27): *p < 0.05. b Inguinal lymph node cells on day 27 were isolated from WT mice (n = 8) and LRG KO mice (n = 8) and stimulated by chicken type-2 collagen for 3 days. The percentages of IL-17+ cells gated on CD4+ cells were determined by flow cytometry (left). The levels of IL-17 in cell culture supernatants were analyzed by ELISA (right): *p < 0.05. c Percentages of CD4 + Foxp3 + cells (Treg) and CD4 + IFN-γ + cells (Th1) of the same population as b were determined by flow cytometry. d The serum levels of cytokines and anti-collagen type-2 antibodies in WT mice (n = 8) and LRG KO mice (n = 8) on day 27 after induction of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) were analyzed by ELISA: *p < 0.05. All statistical analyses were performed using Student’s t test. NT non-treated, n.s. not significant, IFN interferon