Table 2.
Paired Comparison Between Cervical Cytokine and Chemokine Concentrations Between the Follicular and Luteal Phases of the Menstrual Cycle
| Variable | Level During Follicular Phase | Level During Luteal Phase | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Than LLD, % | Overall, pg/mL, Median (IQR) | Less Than LLD, % | Overall, pg/mL, Median (IQR) | ||
| Antiinflammatory cytokines | |||||
| IL-10 | 9 | 0.55 (0.55–0.55) | 15 | 0.55 (0.55–0.55) | .4142a |
| sCD40LG | 32 | 2.55 (2.55–3.49) | 24 | 2.55 (2.55–2.55) | .2482a |
| Proinflammatory cytokines | |||||
| IL-2 | 23 | 0.50 (0.50–0.50) | 18 | 0.50 (0.50–0.50) | .2568a |
| IL-15 | 15 | 0.60 (0.60–0.60) | 13 | 0.60 (0.60–0.60) | .999a |
| IL-1α | 94 | 71.16 (16.4–231.6) | 97 | 122.3 (59.63–277.7) | .020b |
| IL-1β | 59 | 4.35 (0.40–31.75) | 74 | 15.12 (0.40–74.85) | .208c |
| IL-12p70 | 62 | 4.36 (0.30–8.65) | 41 | 0.30 (0.30–5.95) | .248c |
| TNF | 21 | 0.35 (0.35–0.35) | 24 | 0.35 (0.35–0.35) | 1.000a |
| IL-17A | 31 | 0.35 (0.35–3.68) | 25 | 0.35 (0.35–2.58) | .5637a |
| IFN-γ | 26 | 0.40 (0.40–0.40) | 24 | 0.40 (0.40–0.40) | .4795a |
| Proinflammatory chemoattractants | |||||
| CCL3 | 50 | 2.61 (1.45–18.41) | 62 | 5.79 (1.45–19.32) | .649b |
| CCL20 | 35 | 0.8 (0.8–16.4) | 38 | 0.80 (0.80–29.41) | .890c |
| CXCL8 | 100 | 408.6 (198.7–1976) | 100 | 672.6 (204.8–3115) | .158b |
| CCL4 | 79 | 12.88 (3.66–21.37) | 74 | 6.69 (1.50–19.95) | .290b |
| CXCL10 | 79 | 77.74 (6.29–143.1) | 76 | 61.52 (6.66–151.6) | .880b |
| CCL2 | 97 | 53.31 (14.03–152.7) | 79 | 18.79 (3.46–62.35) | .002b |
| CXCL9 | 79 | 202.4 (56.33–512.7) | 74 | 278.1 (5.15–792.8) | .696b |
| Cytokine receptors | |||||
| IL-1RN | 100 | 11000 (6578–11000) | 100 | 11000 (10208–11000) | .231c |
| IL-2RA | 25 | 3.0 (3.0–19.55) | 19 | 3.0 (3.0–3.0) | .480a |
Data are for samples from 32 sex workers. Samples with undetectable levels, defined as levels below the LLD, were assigned the value of LLD/2. We were unable to detect the full panel of cytokines/chemokines in 5 participants.
Abbreviations: IFN-γ, interferon γ; IL-1RN, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist; IL-1α, interleukin 1α; IL-1β, interleukin 1β; IL-2, interleukin 2; IL-2RA, interleukin 2 receptor agonist; IL-10, interleukin 10; IL-12p70, interleukin 12p70; IL-15, interleukin 15; IL-17A, interleukin 17A; IQR, interquartile range; LLD, lower limit of detection; TNF, tumor necrosis factor.
aCytokines expressed in <30% of participants were analyzed as paired binary variables using McNemar test.
bParametric paired t tests were used to compare means between follicular and luteal phases on log10 transformed values.
cWilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare untransformed ranked values between follicular and luteal phases.