Figure 1.

mRNA levels of IRF5 and IRF5-mediated inflammatory factors in peripheral white blood cells of CAP patients. The peripheral white blood cells were lysed to isolate total RNA for amplifying mRNA of IRF5, IFN-α, IL-6, IL-10, IP10, and TNF-α by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). HC – healthy controls. Comparisons between 2 groups (HC vs. Total; Mild vs. Severe) were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. Data are presented as the mean ±SEM (n=31 for HC, n=60 for total CAP patients, n=36 for mild CAP patients, and n=24 for severe CAP patients). P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference.