Deletion of β-catenin in DCs did not alter the onset and severity of autoimmune CIA.

<p>Arthritis induction could be observed in mice as early as 17 days after immunization (A). There was no difference in the CIA incidence between the control (arthritis incidence = 56.5%, n = 46) and β-cat^DEL (arthritis incidence = 60.4%, n = 48) group (A). In addition, no difference in the disease severity was observed between the control (n = 26) and β-cat^DEL group (n = 29) (B). The disease severity reached a maximal average score of 3.5 ± 0.5 in the control and 2.6 ± 0.4 in the β-cat^DEL group on day 34 (<i>p = 0</i>.<i>3765</i>) (B). Representative histological images of the knees of CIA control (C and D) and β-cat^DEL (E and F) mice collected on day 35 after the first immunization. The tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Scale bar: 50 μm. JS = joint space; P = patella; S = synovial membrane; F = femur; C = cartilage.