Fig. 5.

The severity of CIA was attenuated in TLR9 knockout mice. Here we induced CIA model in C57BL/6 WT mice (n = 10) and TLR9^−/− mice (n = 10). (A, B) In contrast to WT CIA mice, the arthritis incidence and score were decreased in TLR9^−/− CIA mice. (C) In LNs, the percentage and the maturation of DCs in TLR9^−/− CIA mice was down-regulated compared to WT CIA mice because the expression of CD86 was inhibited. (D) In contrast to WT CIA mice, the migration ability of peripheralblood DCs in TLR9^−/− CIA mice was impaired with lowed level of CCR7 and CXCR4. * P < 0.01: TLR9^−/− CIA mice VS WT CIA mice.