Fig. 3

Effects of artesunate on MMP and TIMP expression in primary RA-FLS. a–c After artesunate, MTX, or HCQ treatment for 24 h, expression of MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 of primary RA-FLS were analyzed by Western blot (a), qPCR (b), and ELISA (c). a–c shared the same figure key. Each bar represents mean ± SD from 6 RA patients. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, compared with RA-FLS without treatment. d After treatment of MMP-2 (6 ng/mL) and/or MMP-9 (12 ng/mL) in combination with artesunate (60 μM) for 24 h, wound healing and transwell assays showed the capacity of horizontal migration, vertical migration, and invasion of primary RA-FLS. Bars are representative as means ± SD from 6 RA patients. **P < 0.01, compared with RA-FLS without artesunate treatment. ^△P < 0.05, ^△△P < 0.01 compared with RA-FLS treated with artesunate alone