TNFα Promotes Th17 Cell Differentiation through IL-6 and IL-1β Produced by Monocytes in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Figure 5

Decreased Th17 cell differentiation after anti-TNFα treatment in RA patients. A group of RA patients () were treated with infliximab. Blood specimens were obtained at baseline or 22 weeks after treatment. (a) The percentage of Th1 and Th17 cells in CD4⁺ T cells and that of IL-6 and IL-1β producing cells in CD14⁺ cells were determined by flow cytometry. (b) The concentration of IL-6, IL-1β, and IL-17 in sera from the pretreatment or posttreatment of RA patients. (c) The phosphorylation of STAT3 in CD4⁺ T cells from the same specimens was analyzed by flow cytometry. The open or shaded areas represent p-STAT3 antibody staining or isotype control, respectively. The shown data are representative of ten paired PBMC specimens (left panel). MFI: mean fluorescent intensity. Line represents mean MFI values (right panel). In all cases, asterisks indicate statistically significant differences between the two groups ().

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