Figure 5

Correlation between AREG and VEGF expression levels. (A) The VEGF mRNA expression levels in synovia from 10 RA patients and 6 OA patients were measured by real-time PCR, and are shown by box-plots (left). Significant differences from unstimulated cells are shown by asterisks (*P < 0.05). The correlation between the mRNA levels of VEGF and AREG is shown by a distribution chart (right). The linear regression coefficient (R²) is 0.496 and the correlation coefficient (ρ) is 0.700 (P = 0.0067). (B) The concentrations of VEGF in synovial fluids from 7 RA patients and 6 OA patients were measured by ELISA, and are shown by box-plots (left). Significant differences from unstimulated cells are shown by asterisks (*P < 0.05). The correlation between the protein concentrations of VEGF and AREG is shown by a distribution chart (right), in which R² is 0.577 and ρ is 0.772 (P = 0.0075).