The Roles of Interleukin-6 in the Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis

Figure 3

Hepcidin mRNA induction by arthritic serum in Hep3B cells [7]. Hep3B cells were incubated with serum from healthy, arthritic, or tocilizumab-treated monkeys for 24 h. Tocilizumab was added simultaneously with serum. After incubation, total mRNA was extracted, and hepcidin mRNA was measured by real-time PCR. The hepcidin expression induced by medium alone (without serum) was defined as 1. Each point represents the mean and SD of 3 monkeys. Statistical significances between healthy animals and arthritic animals and between control and the addition of tocilizumab were analyzed by unpaired 𝑡-test. *𝑃<.05 (healthy animals’ serum, control versus arthritic animals’ serum, control), ^†𝑃<.05 (arthritic animals’ serum, control versus arthritic animals’ serum, tocilizumab).