Targeted Delivery of the HLA-B27-Binding Peptide into the Endoplasmic Reticulum Suppresses the IL-23/IL-17 Axis of Immune Cells in Spondylarthritis

Figure 4

The effects of treatment with THUC, THUA, or THUNP on the production of proinflammatory cytokine mRNAs in PBMCs isolated from AS patients in response to LPS. The suitable primers were synthesized as described [40]. Relative expression levels of mRNA were defined by the following equation: (40 − threshold cycle [Ct] after adjustment by the expression of 18S rRNA). (a) Treatment with LPS promotes the mRNA expression of cytokines, TNF-α, INF-γ, IL-6, IL-23, and IL-17A mRNAs (mean ± SD, ). values were obtained by t-test. (b) Treatment with THUC, THUA, or THUNP reduced the expression of IL-17A mRNA. Treatment with THUNP also suppressed the expression of TNF-α and IL-23 mRNAs (mean ± SD, ). values were obtained by one-way analysis of variance test followed by Sidak multiple comparison tests.

(a)

(b)