Fig. 5.

Additive effects of dexamethasone (DEX) and 1,25(OH)₂D₃ on the inhibition of RASF activation by TNFα blockade are verified for treatment-naive RA patients. Cocultures were set up as described in Fig. 4 using RASF from established RA patients and allogeneic CCR6⁺ memTh cells sorted from PBMCs of treatment-naive early RA patients. Cytokine expression was measured using ELISA after 3 days of culture. Arrows indicate increasing concentrations and heatmaps represent the mean inhibition per condition for n = 2–4 treatment-naive early RA patients. IL interleukin, MMP matrix metalloprotease