Table 2.
Cytokine and chemokine levels among WNV-positive cases and WNV-negative controls by sex.
| Level, pg/mL, Median (IQR) | P valuea | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cytokine/Chemokineb | Group A: Controls (n1 = 14, n2 = 17)c | Group B: IgM-negative cases (n1 = 32, n2 = 32)c | Group C: IgM-positive cases (n1 = 15, n2 = 36)c | A vs B | B vs C | A vs C | |
| Females | CCL2 (MCP-1) | 29.99 (19.97–35.24) | 42.22 (25.81–53.73) | 31.67 (20.92–34.11) | 0.0539 | 0.0288 | 0.9056 |
| CCL7 (MCP-3) | 0.14 (0.14–1.813) | 1.04 (0.14–4.87) | 0.14 (0.14–1.42) | 0.3141 | 0.4115 | 0.9750 | |
| CCL8 (MCP-2) | 13.56 (6.345–21.63) | 26.98 (15.68–43.88) | 12.22 (5.54–14.62) | 0.0207 | 0.0012 | 0.5831 | |
| CCL11 (eotaxin-1) | 12.63 (3.71–57.37) | 23.08 (3.71–76.06) | 26.13 (3.71–74.12) | 0.9087 | 0.7484 | 0.8687 | |
| CCL13 (MCP-4) | 6.17 (6.17–52.89) | 78.99 (11.67–119.5) | 67.21 (6.17–102) | 0.0332 | 0.4919 | 0.1381 | |
| CCL20 (MIP-3α) | 1.89 (1.89–1.89) | 5.74 (1.89–12.31) | 4.68 (1.89–13.7) | 0.0054 | 0.9395 | 0.0076 | |
| CXCL9 (MIG) | 144.5 (109.8–266.8) | 218.5 (163.5–298.8) | 130 (105–218) | 0.3143 | 0.1233 | 0.5306 | |
| CXCL10 (IP-10) | 35.68 (10.17–193.5) | 228 (87.97–294.5) | 13.11 (2.05–32.91) | 0.0197 | <0.0001 | 0.2713 | |
| IFN-α | 0.0215 (0.0215–0.0215) | 4.691 (0.0215–18.44) | 0.0215 (0.0215–0.0215) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.4828 | |
| IL-15 | 0.43 (0.195–0.6425) | 0.64 (0.43–1.01) | 0.36 (0.18–0.52) | 0.0918 | 0.0501 | 0.7723 | |
| IL-1RA | 69.93 (19.39–108.8) | 57.43 (34.8–92.42) | 32.94 (12.5–77.79) | 0.6758 | 0.3655 | 0.3434 | |
| MMP-9 | 1328 (901.5–3376) | 1532 (952.8–3033) | 2695 (1960–3750) | 0.9155 | 0.0391 | 0.5059 | |
| Males | CCL2 (MCP-1) | 32.04 (11.27–40.53) | 54.48 (29.67–63.7) | 41.92 (33.76–53.48) | 0.0075 | 0.0607 | 0.0298 |
| CCL7 (MCP-3) | 5.26 (0.14–16.48) | 2.105 (0.14–6.32) | 0.14 (0.14–1.838) | 0.2232 | 0.0339 | 0.0102 | |
| CCL8 (MCP-2) | 9.81 (5.215–12.83) | 26.87 (15.33–45.49) | 14.62 (10.11–21.55) | 0.0020 | <0.0001 | 0.0059 | |
| CCL11 (eotaxin-1) | 46.03 (3.71–82.89) | 72.46 (3.71–164.5) | 99.69 (33.84–165.5) | 0.1510 | 0.5538 | 0.0114 | |
| CCL13 (MCP-4) | 51.86 (6.17–101.4) | 68.13 (6.17–132.3) | 89.12 (40.17–125.3) | 0.6536 | 0.7061 | 0.5262 | |
| CCL20 (MIP-3α) | 1.89 (1.89–7.885) | 2.69 (1.89–11.27) | 2.63 (1.89–14.06) | 0.7226 | 0.6612 | 0.6392 | |
| CXCL9 (MIG) | 100 (31.71–191.5) | 167 (105–267) | 183.5 (134.3–244.8) | 0.2625 | 0.3672 | 0.0335 | |
| CXCL10 (IP-10) | 3.25 (2.05–49.49) | 170.5 (47.7–281) | 44 (15.74–91.78) | <0.0001 | 0.0072 | 0.0076 | |
| IFN-α | 0.0215 (0.0215–0.0215) | 3.229 (0.0215–8.302) | 0.0215 (0.0215–0.0215) | <0.0001 | <0.0001 | 0.1634 | |
| IL-15 | 0.43 (0.18–0.54) | 0.84 (0.3725–1.135) | 0.6 (0.3775–0.9575) | 0.0009 | 0.3382 | 0.0048 | |
| IL-1RA | 7.41 (3.86–17.4) | 65.91 (26.95–96.85) | 32.23 (7.125–55.98) | <0.0001 | 0.0081 | 0.0155 | |
| MMP-9 | 2192 (1401–3216) | 1462 (913–3055) | 2050 (1100–3333) | 0.3388 | 0.3337 | 0.6849 | |
Abbreviations: IFN-α, interferon α; IgM, immunoglobulin M; IL-15, interleukin 15; IL-1RA, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist; IP-10, interferon γ-induced protein 10; IQR, interquartile range; MCP, monocyte chemoattractant protein; MIG, monokine induced by gamma interferon; MIP-3α, macrophage inflammatory protein 3α; WNV, West Nile virus.
Determined by the Mann–Whitney U test with Holm–Šídák correction. Values <0.05 are considered statistically significant.
The significance pattern of cytokine level differences among controls, pre-IgM cases and post-IgM cases were compared between sexes. Cytokines that did not show sex differences in cytokine level comparisons are not shown.
Number of females (n1) and males (n2) in each group.