Figure 6.

Effects of Bifidobacterium longum RAPO in human PBMCs and avatar mice of RA patient. (A) The PBMCs of the RA patient were cultured with anti-CD3 antibody for 72 h and the resulting Th1 cells (IFN-r⁺CD4⁺), Th2 cells (IL-4⁺CD4⁺), and Th17 cells (CD4⁺IL17⁺) were analyzed. (B) The PBMCs of the RA patient were cultured with anti-CD3 antibody for 48 h. Hierarchical cluster heatmap of the PBMC-stimulated anti-CD3 antibody of RA patient treated with B. longum RAPO or vehicle. The expression of Th17 pathway was analyzed by RNA sequencing. Significantly differentially expressed gene and significant differences in Th17 pathway activities. The fold change of Th17-related genes decreased in the treatment of the B. longum RAPO. (C) Relative mRNA expression of Th17 pathway genes was analyzed by real-time PCR. (D) NSG mice were administered with B. longum RAPO (1 × 10⁸ CFU/mouse) once daily for 7 weeks after the sensitization injection. (E) Splenocytes from the avatar mice of RA patient treated with B. longum RAPO. The cells were stained with Abs against CD4, IL-17. A graph from a representative experiment showing the frequency of IL-17⁺ cells in CD4 T cells. (F) Joint sections from the avatar mice of RA patient with B. longum RAPO-treated mice were stained with safranin O. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001 (vs. vehicle-treated group).