Table 2.
Thymosin β levels and frequency detection in different subgroups
| Tβ4 | Tβ10 | Tβ4 sulfoxide | |
|---|---|---|---|
| pSS | 3.5 ± 3.1 (n = 8)a | 0.2 ± 0.3 (n = 6) | 1.6 ± 3.3 (n = 4)a |
| ss/SSc | 0.7 ± 1.0 (n = 6)b | 0.03 ± 0.05 (n = 3)a,b | 0.2 ± 0.4 (n = 3) |
| ss/SLE | 0.6 ± 0.4 (n = 7)b | N/A (n = 1) | N/A (n = 1) |
| ss/RA | 1.2 ± 1.1 (n = 6) | N/A (n = 1) | N/A (n = 1) |
| SSc | 0.3 ± 0.6 (n = 3)b | N/A (n = 0)b | N/A (n = 0) |
| SLE | 0.1 ± 0.2 (n = 2)a,b | N/A (n = 0)b | N/A (n = 0) |
| RA | 0.2 ± 0.4 (n = 3) | N/A (n = 0)b | N/A (n = 0) |
| HC | 0.8 ± 0.6 (n = 9) | N/A (n = 0)b | N/A (n = 0) |
Abbreviations: pSS Primary Sjögren’s syndrome, ss Sicca syndrome, SSc Systemic sclerosis, SLE Systemic lupus erythematosus, RA Rheumatoid arthritis, HC Healthy control subjects, N/A Not applicable to the comparison between levels (as continuous variable) because of too few patients with detectable thymosins in the considered group
Values are the mean ± SD protein levels in the extracted ion current area (×108). Values in parentheses are the number of subjects in whom the protein was identified
a p ≤ 0.05 vs HC either in levels of thymosin β and/or in its presence
b p ≤ 0.05 vs pSS either in thymosin β levels and/or in its presence