Figure 4. Cytokines in plasma from MFS patients.

(A) In patients with aortic root dilatation strikingly higher levels of TGF-β were found (p = 8×10⁻⁶), when compared to the patients without aortic root dilatation. (B) The progression of the aortic disease was reflected by the levels of M-CSF. Patients with progressive aortic root dilatation (aortic dilatation rate of 0.9 mm/year) had higher levels of Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor (M-CSF) in plasma (p = 0.05) when compared to patients with mild aortic disease (aortic dilatation rate of 0.1 mm/y).