Table 1.
Clinical features of the patients enrolled in this study.
Fig 1.
Anti-drug antibody (ADA) is associated with reduced clinical response.
(A) Treatment efficacy defined as low disease activity (LDA) or remission at 6 months. Percentages and absolute numbers of each group of patients are indicated below the graphs. ADA positivity was based on the assessment of 6 months. Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison. (B) Cumulative drug retention rates. A log-rank test was used for comparison between the two groups.
Fig 2.
The association between ADA and ANA.
(A) The proportion of ADA (n = 21) and ANA (≥ ×160, n = 15) positive patients at different time points after IFX treatment in the ADA-positive group. A log-rank test was used for comparison between ADA and ANA curves. (B) Changes in the ANA staining pattern before (pre) and after (post) IFX. Numbers in bar graphs indicate percentages of patients with Hom/Spe pattern of FANA. None, ANA titer was ≤ ×40; Hom/Spe, homogenous/speckled. The chi-square test was used for comparison. * p = 0.037 (ADA-negative group) and p = 0.032 (ADA-positive group), ns: not significant.
Fig 3.
The association between ADA and anti-DNA Ab.
The baseline (pre) and the peak (post) values of anti-DNA Ab (Farr) (A), IgG-anti-dsDNA Ab (B), IgM-anti-dsDNA Ab (C), and IgG-anti-ssDNA Ab (D). The upper limit normal values are indicated by dashed lines. The post values are the highest titers observed during the follow-up periods. Each dot represents a single serum sample, and the data are presented as mean ± SEM. A paired t-test for intra-group comparison or the Mann-Whitney test for inter-group comparison was used. ns: not significant.
Fig 4.
Serum cytokine levels before and 12 months after IFX treatment.
The pre- and post-treatment levels of IL-6, IFN-γ, IFN-α2 and BAFF were compared between ADA-positive (+) and ADA-negative (-) groups. Data are presented as mean + SEM. A paired t-test for intra-group comparison and the Mann-Whitney test for inter-group comparison were used.