Figure 3
Increased cathepsin S (CTSS) expression induced by pristane injection with systemic lupus-like symptoms. (a) Lipogranuloma attached to the diaphragm (arrows) in WT and TG mice 8 months after pristane treatment. (b) Representative western blot showing CTSS expression in the spleen. β-actin was used as a loading control. Each band was cropped from same gel and grouped together. Original blots are shown in Supplementary Information. (c) Serum CTSS levels in WT and TG mice 8 months after treatment with or without pristane injection were measured by ELISA. Non pristane non-injected group, Pris pristane-injected group. (d) Serum ANAs and anti-dsDNA levels in WT and TG mice 8 months after treatment with pristane, as determined by ELISA. (e) Spleen weights of WT and TG mice treated with pristane. (f) IFN-α, TNF-α, IL-17 and IFN-γ cytokine mRNA levels in spleens from WT and TG mice measured by qRT-PCR. (g) Concentrations of TNF-α and IL-17 in sera, as determined by ELISA. Non pristane non-injected group, Pris pristane-injected group. WT wild type, TG transgenic. *p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001, versus WT non-treated group, #p < 0.05; ##p < 0.001, versus WT pristane-injected group.
