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. 2016 Jun 16;1(9):e85851. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.85851

Figure 3. Th17 cytokines associate with myocarditis/dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Figure 3

(A–C) Cytokine concentrations in myocarditis/DCM subjects in baseline blood sample (n = 41) and healthy controls (n = 32) were assessed using human ELISA kits and reported as pg/ml (adjusted alpha level: 0.0167). (A) IL-6 was significantly elevated in myocarditis/DCM. Mann-Whitney, P < 0.0001. (B) TGF-β1 was significantly elevated in myocarditis/DCM. Mann-Whitney, P = 0.0001. (C) IL-23 was significantly elevated in myocarditis/DCM. Mann-Whitney, P = 0.0001. (D) Significantly elevated GM-CSF was found in 6-month myocarditis/DCM blood samples (n = 27) versus healthy controls (n = 25). GM-CSF (pg/ml) was assessed using human ELISA kits. Mann-Whitney, P = 0.0336. (E) Myocarditis/DCM patients (n = 11) demonstrated significantly elevated intracellular GM-CSF+CD4+CD3+ cell percentages. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from myocarditis/DCM (n = 11) subjects and healthy controls (n = 12) were stained for CD4, CD3, and GM-CSF and analyzed using a flow cytometer. Mann-Whitney, P = 0.0006. FACS analysis was performed on fresh PBMCs, which were analyzed immediately upon receiving the blood sample. Only 1 sample per time point was analyzed by FACS and compared to isotype controls. Cytokine analysis was performed in triplicate to determine the serum cytokine concentration.