Fig. 3.

The mRNA expression of cytokines, chemokines and chemokine receptors in the labial salivary glands (LSGs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from Sjögren's syndrome (SS) patients. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products of interferon (IFN)-γ, interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, inducible protein (IP)-10, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-1α), regulated upon activation normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC), macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC), CXCR3, CCR4 and CCR5 were estimated quantitatively, as described in the Patients and methods section. The mRNA expression in the LSGs from SS patients was compared with that from control LSGs (a) and the mRNA expression in the PBMCs from SS patients was compared with that from control PBMCs (b). The bar shows the mean value ± standard deviation. Statistical significance of the differences between groups was determined by the Mann–Whitney U-test (*P < 0·05; **P < 0·01).