Table 5.
NK cell activity and cytokine cluster analysis obtained prior to and after treatment in the two subgroups.
| PTE Group (n = 50) | Placebo Group (n = 51) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baseline | Week 8 | Change | p-Value 1 | Baseline | Week 8 | Change | p-Value 1 | p-Value 2 | |
| NK cell activity (%) | |||||||||
| 12.5:1 | 11.2 ± 8.4 | 14.6 ± 8.0 | 3.4 ± 7.3 | 0.0019 | 11.8 ± 9.2 | 12.8 ± 9.5 | 1.0 ± 5.7 | 0.2238 | 0.0683 |
| 25:1 | 20.3 ± 12.0 | 23.2 ± 12.4 | 2.8 ± 7.5 | 0.0106 | 20.6 ± 13.8 | 20.5 ± 13.0 | −0.1 ± 6.4 | 0.8907 | 0.0357 |
| 50:1 | 27.8 ± 14.2 | 30.5 ± 14.4 | 2.7 ± 7.4 | 0.0134 | 27.3 ± 14.4 | 27.3 ± 14.5 | 0.1 ± 7.5 | 0.9457 | 0.0810 |
| IL-2 (pg/mL) | 1.33 ± 0.875 | 1.36 ± 0.94 | 0.03 ± 0.46 | 0.6064 | 1.44 ± 1.51 | 1.36 ± 1.07 | −0.08 ± 1.04 | 0.5885 | 0.4811 |
| IL-6 (pg/mL) | 0.70 ± 0.72 | 0.65 ± 0.58 | −0.05 ± 0.34 | 0.3395 | 0.64 ± 0.87 | 0.53 ± 0.52 | −0.11 ± 0.51 | 0.1427 | 0.4824 |
| IL-12 (pg/mL) | 2.51 ± 1.92 | 2.34 ± 1.34 | −0.17 ± 0.83 | 0.1451 | 2.10 ± 1.51 | 1.91 ± 1.06 | −0.19 ± 0.89 | 0.1263 | 0.9097 |
| INF-γ (pg/mL) | 8.95 ± 9.18 | 8.56 ± 7.06 | −0.39 ± 2.74 | 0.3175 | 7.13 ± 7.08 | 6.50 ± 4.55 | −0.63 ± 3.60 | 0.2171 | 0.7084 |
| TNF-α (pg/mL) | 6.00 ± 2.56 | 7.09 ± 3.60 | 1.13 ± 3.72 | 0.0368 | 7.31 ± 2.86 | 7.59 ± 3.83 | 0.29 ± 4.65 | 0.6606 | 0.3180 0.7997 3 |
Values are presented as mean ± standard deviation (SD). 1 Analyzed using paired t-test. 2 Analyzed using linear mixed model between groups. 3 Analyzed using ANCOVA after adjustment for baseline values Abbreviations: MET, metabolic equivalents value; NK, natural killer; PTE, Porphyra tenera extract; IL-2, IL-6, IL-12, interleukin-2, 6, 12; IFN-γ, interferon gamma; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha.