Figure 2.
Correlation between the level of proteolytic activity found and the number of infiltrating leukocytes. Positive correlation between the net proteolytic activity (NPA) and the number of (a) infiltrating leukocytes (rs = 0.710, P < 0.001) or (b) polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) (rs = 0.696, P < 0.001) in synovial fluids of patients with inflammatory arthritis. (c) No such correlation between the NPA and the number of infiltrating leukocytes was observed in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Each point represents one sample. The correlation was calculated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient for each test. FASC, fluorescent-activated substrate conversion.