Figure 1

Effects of dexamethasone (DEX) and FK506 on COX-2 mRNA expression. Rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts were pretreated with FK506 for 2 hours and with DEX for the last 6 hours of incubation. Total RNA was reverse transcribed after PCR amplification with primers for COX-2 and β-actin. Ethidium bromide staining of PCR products was performed after 25 cycles of amplification and separation in a 1.5% agarose gel. A representative example of three rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients showing similar results.