Fig. 3

Representative example of LC3-II/LC3-I and p62 protein expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cell lysates from one patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and one healthy control subject (HC) (a). Comparisons of protein expression levels of LC3-II/LC3-I (b) and p62 (c) in patients with RA and HC are shown. Data are presented as box plot diagrams, with the box encompassing the 25th percentile (lower bar) to the 75th percentile (upper bar). The horizontal line within the box indicates median value for each group. *p < 0.005, **p < 0.001 versus HC, determined by Mann-Whitney U test