Zinc reverses the anti-proliferative and anti-inflammatory effects of Cd on synoviocytes.

(A,B) OA and RA synoviocytes were treated overnight with IL-17A (50 ng/mL) and TNF-α (0.5 ng/mL) followed by the addition of Zn, Cd or the combination of both. Cell viability and phase contrast microscopy photographs were assessed at day 5. (C) OA and RA synoviocytes were treated in normal cultures as in A or in co-cultures with inactivated or PHA-activated PBMCs. Supernatants were collected at day 8 and IL-6 production was quantified by ELISA. Statistical significance was assessed by a two-way Anova. Data are presented as mean ± SEM; * refers to the analysis of cytokine exposure, # to the analysis of metal exposure */# p<0.05, **/## p<0.01.