Fig. 4

Kaplan–Meier survival analyses of MRL/lpr mice and anti-dsDNA antibody titer as a function of age. a Kaplan–Meier survival curve. Experimental groups of mice treated with Bz or Cyc: control (Con, red) (n = 18), injected with vehicle beginning at 10 weeks of age; 10wkBz (black) (n = 10), injected with Bz twice in a week beginning at 10 weeks of age; 14wkBz (green) (n = 18), injected with Bz twice a week beginning at 14 weeks of age; 14wkBz → PBS (blue) (n = 18), injected with Bz twice a week beginning at 14 weeks until 18 weeks of age, PBS then injected from 19 weeks onward; Cyc (purple) (n = 18), injected with Cyc once in 2 weeks. Log-rank test: *p = 0.0245, **p = 0.032, ***p = 0.0005, ****p = 0.010 (after 22 weeks of age). b Anti-dsDNA antibody titer in the course of treatment with Bz. Blood was drawn from the tail veins at 14, 18, 22, and 26 weeks of age. Sera were analyzed for anti-dsDNA antibody: control (Con, red) (n = 18), injected with vehicle beginning at 10 weeks of age; 14wkBz (green) (n = 18), injected with Bz twice a week beginning at 14 weeks of age; 14wkBz → PBS (blue) (n = 18), injected with Bz twice a week beginning at 14 weeks of age until 18 weeks of age, PBS then injected from 19 weeks onward; Cyc (black) (n = 18), injected with Cyc once in 2 weeks. Values expressed as median with quartile range. Statistical analysis performed using one-way ANOVA analyses with Turkey post-hoc test. *p < 0.001, **p =0.0012, ***p =0.0032, ****p =0.00272, *****p =0.00075, ******p =0.00064. anti-dsDNA anti-double-stranded DNA, A.U. arbitrary units, Bz bortezomib, Cyc cyclophosphamide (Color figure online)