Figure 5

Characterization of aggrecan fragments in RA patients by western blot analysis. Western blot analysis was done using 15 independent human plasma samples pooled from patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) (lane 3) and the membrane was stained with (a) the monoclonal antibody F-78 raised against intact bovine aggrecan, binding to G1 and G2, or with (b) BC-3 raised against the aggrecanase-generated ³⁷⁴ARGSVI sequence. As control, plasma samples from 22 healthy individuals were used (lane 2). A standard molecular weight marker was also run to determine the size of the detected fragments (lane 1).