Fig. 1.

Pilot study. (a) Arthritic scores, (b) body weight (gram; g), and serum levels at termination of (c) IgG-RF, (d) IgM-RF, (e) IL-17 (f), IL-1β and (g) TNFα in female DA-rats intradermally injected on day 0 with 200 μl pristane (n = 6) or physiological buffer (controls, n = 6) and monitored twice a week for up to 40 days. The dots represent the value for the individual animals while the lines represent the group median value. The dotted line indicates the lower detection limit for the ELISA-assay. Asterisk (*) denote statistically significant higher levels compared to the control group (p < 0.05, Mann Whitney test).