Fig. 4

Specific biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) show differences in their effect on reactive CD4 T cells of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Scatterplots depict frequencies of varicella zoster virus (VZV)-specific (a) and Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin B (SEB)-reactive (b) CD4 T cells of healthy control subjects (HC, n = 39) as well as patients with RA receiving biological disease-modifying bDMARDs, stratified according to the mechanism of action of the respective bDMARD (abatacept, T-cell costimulation blockade, n = 4; adalimumab, etanercept, infliximab, certolizumab, TNF blockade, n = 14; rituximab, B-cell depletion, n = 16; tocilizumab, interleukin [IL]-6R blockade, n = 15). Bars indicate median values and IQRs, dotted lines are detection limits for VZV-specific and SEB-reactive CD4 T cells as determined before (VZV 0.02%, SEB 0.05% [10]), respectively. Gray symbols refer to patients receiving steroids as part of their medication. Statistical differences were assessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn’s posttest. Significant differences in posttests are marked by asterisks (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01)