Fig. 2

RFX1 inhibits IL-17A expression in CD4⁺ T cells. a CD4⁺ T cells from healthy controls were transfected with negative control siRNA (NC), RFX1-specific siRNA#1 or siRNA#2, along with anti-CD3 and -CD28 antibody stimulation. The RFX1 protein level was downregulated significantly in CD4⁺ T cells transfected with siRNA#1 or siRNA#2 compared with NC. Representative results of western blot analysis are shown in the left panel, and the quantification of three independent experiments is shown in the right panel. b mRNA expression levels of IL-17A in cells from three groups were quantified by RT-qPCR. c IL-17 protein levels in the supernatants of culture media of three groups were measured by ELISA. d CD4⁺ T cells from SLE patients were transfected with RFX1 expression plasmid or empty control plasmid. Representative results of western blot analysis are shown in the left panel and the quantification of three independent experiments is shown in the right panel. e mRNA expression levels of IL-17A in cells of two groups were quantified by RT-qPCR. f IL-17A protein levels in supernatants of culture media of two groups were measured by ELISA. Data are representative of three independent experiments (mean ± s.d.; n = 3). *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01, compared between the indicated groups. P-values were determined using the two-tailed Student’s t-test