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Fig. 1 Effect of KMU-11361 inhibition on the K/BxN serum-transfer arthritis model. A A schematic timeline indicating the schedule of arthritis serum injection, therapeutic intervention, and evaluation time points. B Representative images of paw swelling observed on day 8 following serum transfer in KMU-11361-treated and control groups. C Representative H&E-stained sections of ankle joints collected at the end of the experiment (day 12). Code: inflammatory cell infiltration (a), pannus (b), erosion site (c). D Arthritis progression was evaluated by measuring the ankle thickness and clinical score every 2 days until the end of the experiment. Relative changes were calculated based on the baseline value at day 0. sham (n = 3), vehicle-treated (n = 7), KMU-11361 (1 mg/kg)-injected (n = 5), and KMU11361 (6 mg/kg)-injected (n = 6) mice in the K/BxN model. E Mean change in the body weight of mice (from day 0 to day 12), monitored every 2 days. All of the data are expressed as means ± SEM. * p < 0.05, *** p < 0.001 compared with vehicle. F Protein expression levels of inflammatory mediators (COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-6) in the joints of sham (n = 3), vehicle-treated (n = 3), KMU-11361 (1 mg/kg)-injected (n = 3), and KMU-11361 (6 mg/kg)-injected (n = 3) mice in K/BxN model were determined by western blot. The protein expression level of GAPDH was used as a loading control. G Densitometric quantification of COX-2, TNF-α, and IL-6 expression relative to GAPDH was performed using Image J analysis based on the results shown in panel F. *p < 0.05 compared with the vehicle. (H) Relative mRNA expression levels of inflammatory mediators (TNFα and IL6) in the joints of sham (n = 5), vehicle-treated (n = 5), KMU-11361 (1 mg/kg)-injected (n = 5), and KMU-11361 (6 mg/kg)-injected (n = 5) mice in the K/BxN model were determined by real-time qPCR. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001 compared with the vehicle