Studying the effects of gold sodium thiomalate (GST) and methotrexate (MTX) in RA, both employed as first-line therapy in RA diagnosis, Seitz et al. (92) showed that after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or IL-1ß, there was a profound decrease of IL-8 levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cultures from healthy controls as well as patients with RA, and also a significant decrease in the spontaneous production of IL-8 by RA PBMCs. This evidence concerns the gene IL1B and rheumatoid arthritis.