Fig. 1.

Inhibitory effects of TAK-242 on the production of pro-inflammatory mediators. a Human fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) cell line MH7A cells (2.5 × 10⁵ cells) were cultured overnight in 6-well plates containing 2 ml of media and then treated with LPS (2 μg/ml) and various concentrations of TAK-242 for 24 h. b Human primary FLS cells (2.5 × 10⁵ cells) were cultured overnight in 6-well plates containing 2 ml of media. The cells were treated with LPS (2 μg/ml), IL-1β (10 ng/ml), or poly(I:C) (30 μg/ml) in the presence or absence of TAK-242 (0.5 μg/ml) for 24 h. The expression levels of IL-6, IL-8, MMP-1, and VEGF were checked by ELISA from culture supernatants. The data shown are representative of three independent experiments, and similar results were obtained from all three. Differences between groups were analyzed using the nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test. If a statistical difference was detected (P < 0.05), post hoc pairwise group comparisons were performed using Dunn’s test with Bonferroni’s multiple-testing correction. Only significant difference between groups was indicated with “*” or “#.” Values are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 versus control group, ^#P < 0.05, ^##P < 0.01 versus TAK-242 non-treated group. P(I:C), poly(I:C)