Figure 6.

Effect of TAC5-a in a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). (A) Effect of TAC5-a treatment in lupus-prone mice (MRL/lpr) having the SLE phenotype (n = 5). The enlargement of the lymph node was markedly reduced in TAC5-a-treated mice. (B) Amount of anti-dsDNA antibodies and (C) antinuclear antibody in serum, as determined by an ELISA. (D) The albumin content in urine, as determined by the ELISA. (E–L) The relative expression levels of specific genes in the lymph node, kidney, and spleen from MRL/lpr mice, determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The name of the analyzed gene is indicated in each panel. Data were normalized to Gapdh. The exact Wilcoxon Rank Sum test (which is numerically equivalent to the Mann–Whitney U test) was performed to compare the mean values in the two groups. * p < 0.05.