Protein levels of IRF5-related cytokines in the peripheral blood of CAP patients. The concentrations of serum IFN-α, IL-6, IL-10, IP10, and TNF-α in subjects were determined by cytometric bead array. The percentages of IRF5+ WBCs in CAP patients and controls and the dynamic levels in a case of severe CAP are shown. (A) The serum levels of IFN-α, IL-6, IL-10, IP-10, and TNF-α in all subjects. (B) The serum levels of IL-6, IL-10, and IP-10 in 14 patients (7 cases who improved and 7 cases who died) on the first day and seventh day after admission. HC – healthy controls. Differences among normally distributed variables were analyzed using the Student’s t-test. For non-normally distributed variables, the Mann-Whitney U test was used. Data are presented as the mean ±SEM (n=31 for HC, n=71 for total CAP patients, n=36 for mild CAP patients, and n=35 for severe CAP patients). P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference.