Table 3. Biological characteristics of the two major patient subsets identified by cluster analysis of the constitutive release of soluble mediators (cytokines and MMPs, see right part of Fig. 1).
| Mediator | Cluster I | Cluster II | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|
| CXCL8 | 23 718 (3.5-289 169) | 413 (3.5-43 561) | 0.0002 |
| CXCL9 | 12.7 (3.8-18 368) | 3.8 (3.8-49.8) | 0.0066 |
| CXCL10 | 540 (1.7-25 468) | 10.0 (1.7-574) | 0.0004 |
| CXCL11 | 13.9 (13.9-2645) | 13.9 (13.90-13.9) | 0.0060 |
| Ang-1 | 111 (3.5-4337) | 73.3 (3.5-1170) | n.s |
| Ang-2 | 8.3 (8.3-67.4) | 8.3 (8.3-415) | n.s |
| VEGF | 5.0 (5.0-197) | 5.0 (5.0-75.4) | n.s |
| HGF | 40.0 (40.0-7736) | 112 (10.0-2440) | n.s |
| MMP-2 | 160 (160-10 900) | 160 (160-5660) | n.s |
| MMP-9 | 4090 (160-379 400) | 160 (160-21 860) | <0.0001 |
The levels of the soluble mediators are presented as median concentrations (pg/ml), the variation range is given in parenthesis. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for the statistical comparison (ns; not significant).