Skip to main content
Fig. 5 | Arthritis Research & Therapy

Fig. 5

From: Targeting a cysteine protease from a pathobiont alleviates experimental arthritis

Fig. 5

Histopathological analysis of ankle joints from CIA rats pre-immunized with recombinant gingipain domains. Tissue sections of joints in paws of animals from each group were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (a), or safranin O and toluidine blue (b). Inflammation cores (a) and joint destruction scores (b) were calculated for each group. In a, the following scale was used: 0, no inflammation; 1, synovial inflammation, mild infiltration; 2, mild synovial inflammation; 3, moderate synovial inflammation; and 4, synovium highly infiltrated with many inflammatory cells. In b, safranin O staining was scored for cartilage damage with the following scale: 0, no destruction; 1, slight reduction; 2, moderate reduction; 3, sever reduction; and 4, absence of staining. Shown are representative histological sections of ankle joints. The untreated control group displayed normal, healthy articular space and tissues. In control rats that were not pre-exposed to RgpA proteins, synovial hyperplasia, destruction of articular cartilage, and close articular cavity are manifestations of CIA. In the group pre-immunized with CD, there was reduction in histopathological manifestations, including synovial hyperplasia, destruction of articular cartilage, and articular cavity changes compared with the CIA control group. The results are presented as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01

Back to article page