Table 3.
Cytokines relative mRNA levels in PBMC.
| Genesa | SLE (n = 13)b |
|---|---|
| IL-1B | 1.36 (0.75–1.88) |
| IL-2 | 1.20 (0.26–6.03) |
| IL-5 | 1.41 (0.60–2.70) |
| IL-6 | 1.41 (0.58–6.08) |
| IL-10 | 1.98c (1.21–5.37) |
| IL-12A | 1.67 (0.58–2.81) |
| IFN-γ | 1.24 (0.74–2.32) |
| TNF-α | 0.20 (0.16–2.20) |
| TGFB2 | 1.17 (0.25–2.24) |
| TNFSF10 | 1.37 (0.95–1.92) |
aRNAs extracted from PBMC of SLE patients (n = 13) and controls (n = 4) were reverse transcribed, and the gene expression levels were determined by qRT-PCR using gene-specific primers for indicated genes to quantify cytokine mRNA expression, by means of a RT2 Profiler PCR Array System (Table 2). qRT-PCR methods (Materials and Methods and Supplementary material). Two internal loading gene-specific primers controls were included for standardization between samples (GAPDH and β-actin, Table 2). Proportion of transcript present in the samples was calculated using the relative quantification 2−ΔΔCt scheme. Control samples were used as comparative calibrator. Final results represent the relative amount of amplicon in patient's sample (fold change) to the mean level of the transcripts in the control samples.
bValues of the relative mRNA levels are presented as Median (25th to 75th percentile).
cIL-10 gene expression was increased in SLE patients compared with controls (Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, P = 0.0046).
Analysis of the data was done using the GraphPad Prism v.5.01 software.