Figure 1.

Effect of methotrexate (MTX) in the glucose 6-phosphate isomerase (GPI)-induced arthritis model. Mice were immunized with GPI-GST emulsified in complete adjuvant. MTX (10 mg/kg) was administered 3 times a week from the first day of immunization. (A) Arthritis score was assessed as described in the Methods section. Each symbol indicates the mean and standard error (SE) of 8 animals. Statistically significant differences in clinical scores were analyzed by Wilcoxon's test (*P < 0.05). SLC19A1 mRNA expressions in (B) whole hind limbs, (C) CD4 T cells, and (D) B cells were measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). (E) IL-6 and (F) TNF-α mRNA expression in whole hind limbs was measured by real-time PCR. Samples were obtained on day 15. Each bar and error bar indicates the mean and SE of 8 animals. Statistical significance was analyzed by Dunnett's multiple comparison test (#P < 0.05) or unpaired t-test (*P < 0.05). GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase.