Fig. 1

SMILE overexpression attenuates RA pathogenesis in Collagen Induced Arthritis (CIA) mouse model. A The expression of SMILE which is coded by Crebzf in PBMCs from RA patients and healthy controls. B, C Lysates of NIH3T3 cells transfected with a mock vector or the SMILE vector were analyzed for SMILE and phosphorylated AMPK (p-AMPK) expression using western blotting. D CIA was induced in DBA1/J mice. On days 7 and 21 post immunization, mock or SMILE overexpression vectors were hydro dynamically injected. Vectors were also administered in the thigh area and transfected via electroporation once every 10 days until the end of the experiment. Arthritis scores were determined at different time points during the experimental period. E Tissue sections of the joints of mice treated with mock vector or the SMILE vector were immunostained with H&E (bar = 100 µm) and safranin O (bar = 100 µm), and the histologic score for features of arthritis were determined. The dots of bar graph represent 1 mouse respectively. F Concentrations of type II collagen (CII)-specific total IgG and IgG2a as determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The results are the mean ± SD of three independent experiments. Data are presented as the *P < 0.05 and **P < 0.01