Linking Power Doppler Ultrasound to the Presence of Th17 Cells in the Rheumatoid Arthritis Joint
Figure 5
The presence of Th17 cells in SF is linked to increased VEGF in SF.
A) VEGF-A levels in cell-free RA SF and matched paired serum were determined by ELISA (n = 15). B) Scatter plot of VEGF-A levels in SF vs. knee PDUS score, and the corresponding Spearman correlation coefficient and p-values. The regression line and 95% confidence intervals are shown. C) SF VEGF-A levels in RA patients stratified based on their frequency of total IL-17+ CD4+ T cells or total IFNγ+ CD4+ T cells (below or above the median level). Groups were compared using Mann Whitney U tests. (n = 12) D) RA synovial fibroblasts (n = 6) were cultured for 48 hours in the presence of 1 ng/ml rIL-17, 10 ng/ml rIL-17, 10 ng/ml rTNFα or 10 ng/ml rIFNγ. VEGF-A and IL-6 were measured in culture supernatants by ELISA. Comparison between groups was made using one-way ANOVA; * p<0.05. E) RA synovial fibroblasts (n = 3) were cultured for 48 hours alone or with a combination of 1 ng/ml rIL-17, 10 ng/ml rTNFα, and 10 ng/ml rIFNγ prior to measurement of VEGF-A and IL-6 in supernatants.