Fig. 6
From: The cholesterol biosynthesis pathway regulates IL-10 expression in human Th1 cells
Messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of cholesterol biosynthesis pathway (CBP) enzymes are related to disease progression in man. a Expression levels of cholesterol-25-hydroxylase (CH25H), FDFT1 and DHCR7 obtained from a gene expression profiling study of synovial biopsies from 13 rheumatoid arthritis (RA)-risk individuals who were followed over time to investigate the development of arthritis. RA-risk individuals were stratified into relative low or high expressers for the indicated genes, after which their arthritis-free survival was compared using a log-rank (Mantel–Cox) test. Graphs display arthritis-free survival curves including the 95% confidence interval (CI). b Schematic representation of interleukin-10 (IL-10) regulation by the cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. Normal cholesterol pathway activity is required for adequate transcription of the IL10 gene and IL-10 expression in T-helper effector cells (left); when the flux is reduced via statin or 25-hydroxycholesterol (25-HC) supplementation, c-Maf expression is downregulated and IL-10 gene transcription reduced
