BLyS and APRIL in rheumatoid arthritis
J. Clin. Invest. Thorsten M. Seyler, et al. 115:3083 doi:10.1172/JCI25265 [Go to this article.]

Figure 7
APRIL/BLyS blockade results in collapse of ectopic GCs. GC⁺ synovium was implanted into SCID mice, and the chimeras were treated with TACI:Fc or control Fc as described in Figure 6. Explanted synovial grafts were embedded, and frozen tissue sections were stained for CD3 and CD20. Tissue extracts were assayed by PCR for the presence of CD21L transcripts, a marker for FDCs exclusively expressed in synovitis with intact GCs. (A) Treatment of GC⁺ synovitis with TACI:Fc resulted in the destruction of ectopic GCs. Scale bars: 50 μm. (B) In synovial grafts treated with TACI:Fc, few CD20⁺ B cells remained, and CD3⁺ T cells were markedly reduced. HPF, high-powered field. (C) TACI:Fc injection caused loss of CD21L, confirming that FDC networks were no longer sustained. First lane, size markers. +, positive control; –, negative control.