Rheumatoid Factor Positivity Is Associated with Increased Joint Destruction and Upregulation of Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 and Cathepsin K Gene Expression in the Peripheral Blood in Rheumatoid Arthritic Patients Treated with Methotrexate
Figure 1
Relative expression of the genes mTOR (a), ULK1 (b), p21 (c), caspase-3 (d), MMP-9 (e), and cathepsin K (f), and TNFα (g) with reference to β-actin determined by real-time PCR analyses in the whole blood of seronegative (RF−) () and seropositive (RF+) () rheumatoid arthritic patients compared with healthy controls (Control) () at baseline (0) and after 24 months of follow-up (24 mo). Control bar is shown as 1.0 as required for relative quantification with the real-time PCR protocol. Asterisks indicate significant differences from the control in pairwise comparisons (Mann-Whitney test). Number sign (#) shows significant difference from the baseline value (Wilcoxon matched pairs test). & sign indicates significant difference between seronegative and seropositive RA patients (Mann-Whitney test).
