Table 2.
Lymphocyte cytokine production significantly associated with iron deficiency * by type of lymphocyte and cytokine(s)
| Iron deficiency | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Present | Absent | ||||
| Induced (I) or | Lymphocyte | (n = 86–88) | (n = 52–54) | Wilcoxon | |
| Cytokine(s) | spontaneous (S) | type | (median % of cells producing the cytokine[s]) | P-value | |
| IFN-γ | I | All | 18·4 | 12·4 | 0·006 |
| IFN-γ | S | All | 0·4 | 0·7 | 0·007 |
| IFN-γ | S | CD3+ | 0·5 | 0·8 | 0·008 |
| IFN-γ and TNF-α | I | All | 4·5 | 2·2 | 0·006 |
| IL-6 | I | All | 15·9 | 8·8 | 0·002 |
| IL-6 | S | All | 24·4 | 13·0 | < 0·001 |
| IL-6 | I | CD3+ | 18·2 | 10·0 | 0·009 |
| IL-6 | S | CD3+ | 23·6 | 16·3 | 0·004 |
| IL-6 | I | CD3+ 8 | 12·5 | 6·4 | 0·004 |
| IL-6 | S | CD3+ 8 | 17·7 | 8·8 | < 0·001 |
| IL-6 | S | CD3+ 8+ | 36·0 | 22·8 | 0·005 |
| IL-6 and IFN-γ | I | All | 6·3 | 3·3 | 0·002 |
| IL-6 and IFN-γ | I | CD3+ | 10·0 | 5·2 | 0·003 |
| IL-6 and IFN-γ | I | CD3+ 8 | 5·6 | 2·6 | 0·006 |
| IL-8 | I | All | 7·2 | 10·6 | 0·008 |
Serum transferrin recepter level ≥ 10 μ g/ml (iron deficiency present) versus < 10 μ g/ml (iron deficiency absent).