Figure 2.

Cytokine and chemokine levels in patients with Lyme arthritis (LA). Protein levels of 21 mediators associated with innate, T-helper 1 cell (T_H1), or T-helper 17 cell (T_H17) immune responses were assessed in serum and synovial fluid from 141 patients with LA using bead-based Luminex assays. A, Comparison of cytokine and chemokine values in serum or synovial fluid samples from patients with LA or in healthy controls. Black bars represent synovial fluid samples, gray bars represent serum samples, and white bars represent values in healthy subjects. The bars represent the mean values and I-bars represent the standard error of the mean. P values for comparison of synovial fluid and serum are indicated above the bars; P values for comparison with healthy controls are indicated by an asterisk (*P ≤ .05, **P ≤ .01, ***P ≤ .001). B, Cytokine and chemokine values in serum (upper panel) or synovial fluid (lower panel) in LA patients stratified according to antibiotic-responsive (white box plots, n = 60) or antibiotic-refractory (gray box plots, n = 81) course. The box represents the 25th–75th percentiles, the line inside the box represents median values, and I-bars represent the 10th–90th percentiles. Because of the large range in interferon-γ and interleukin 23 levels, the highest values for these mediators may be listed in parentheses above the graphs. P values for comparison of patients with antibiotic-responsive or refractory LA are indicated by an asterisk (*P ≤ .05, **P ≤ .01). Abbreviations: IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; LA, Lyme arthritis; T_H1, T-helper cell 1; T_H17, T-helper cell 17; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.