FIGURE 1.
Correlation between IL‐38 and clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Levels of IL‐38 in plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were discussed in patients with SLE (N = 41) and 31 healthy controls by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay and real‐time PCR. A, Patients with active disease revealed higher plasma levels of IL‐38 as compared with patients with less active disease. B‐G, Patients with features including arthritis, pericarditis, haematuria, proteinuria, pyuria and positive anti‐dsDNA showed higher plasma IL‐38 when opposed to patients without the features. H, Patients showed elevated mRNA expression of IL‐38 as compared with controls. I‐K, Patients with clinical features including haematuria, proteinuria, and pyuria revealed higher IL‐38 mRNA expression than patients without the features. L‐N, IL‐38 mRNA expression was related to C3, C4 and SLE Disease Activity Index. Mann‐Whitney U test was selected with respect to comparison between two groups, and correlation analysis was conducted by Spearman's non‐parametric test. *P < .05; **P < .005