Figure 4.

Effects of cytokine blockade on MAPK activation in the inflamed synovial membrane. Bars indicate the percentages of cells expressing the activated forms of (a) p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)α, (b) extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and (c) c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK) after treatment with vehicle (phosphate-buffered saline [PBS]), anti-tumour necrosis factor (aTNF), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra). Anti-TNF significantly reduced expression of activated p38MAPKα and ERK; IL-1ra only affected p38MAPKα activation; and OPG led to changed MAPK activation in the synovial membrane. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. *P < 0.05.