Figure 3.

Effects on spleen cell proliferation and CII Ab production. (a) Spleen cell proliferation. Spleen cells were isolated from mice on day 42, stimulated with type II collagen (CII) (50 μg/ml) and cultured for 72 h. Cell number was measured by a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay and expressed as percentage of cells derived from control animals. Histograms represent mean ± standard error of the mean (n = 5/group; the asterisk indicates p < 0.001 versus control; the hash symbol indicates p < 0.01 versus collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice without treatment. (b) Serum anti-CII antibody (Ab) levels. Ab concentrations in the serum (day 42) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay. Histograms represent the mean ± standard error of the mean (n = 10/group; the asterisk indicates p < 0.001 versus control; the hash symbol indicates p < 0.01 versus CIA mice without treatment).