Figure 5.

Treatment with smDCs or in combination with MTX made the secondary lymphoid organs of CIA mice become anti-inflammatory circumstances. Advanced CIA mice were treated with smDCs, MTX, or smDCs and MTX. Spleens and LNs were obtained from the treated mice on day 77 after first CII injection and total RNA was extracted from the organs. The mRNA levels of proinflammatory cytokines (a), anti-inflammatory cytokines (b), and immune-suppressive indoleamine 2,3 dioxygenase (IDO) (c) were analyzed by qRT-PCT using the ΔΔCT method and are expressed as a percent of control. Statistical data are shown from more than 3 different sets of experiments as mean ± SEM. ^∗ p < 0.05, ^∗∗ p < 0.001, ^∗∗∗ p < 0.0001 in Student's t-test.