Proportion of Th17/Th1 cells in RA.

<p>CD4+ T cells were isolated from the peripheral blood of healthy controls (HCPB) (n = 53), the peripheral blood of early RA patients (eRAPB) (n = 33), the peripheral blood of established RA patients (RAPB) (n = 20) and the synovial fluid of established RA patients (RASF) (n = 20). A, B. Percentage of CD4+ T cells expressing both IL-17A and IFN-γ (Th17/Th1 cells) after a 16 h stimulation with PMA/ionomycin, as determined by cytometry. Box-plots represent the median and interquartile range of all studied subjects, whiskers represent the maximum and minimum values. *p<0.05 vs HCPB; † p<0.05 vs RAPB; ¥ p<0.05 vs eRAPB.