Fig. 2.

The interleukin (IL)-17A and forkhead box protein 3 (FoxP3) mRNA expression levels in the Swedish study population differed significantly between the groups (P < 0·0001 for both, Kruskal–Wallis test) (a,b), while no difference was seen in the retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (RORc) levels (c). Children with untreated coeliac disease (CD) had higher IL-17A and FoxP3 mRNA levels than gluten-free diet (GFD)-treated children (GFD-CD) (P = 0·003 and P = 0·002, Mann–Whitney U-test) and also compared to the transglutaminase antibody (TGA)-positive children with potential CD (pot CD) and TGA-negative reference children (P = 0·004 and P = 0·001 for IL-17A and P = 0·006 and P = 0·001 for FoxP3, Mann–Whitney U-test). The mRNA levels are expressed as relative units.