Table 2.
Plasma levels of galectins, cytokine profiles, and ferritin in COVID-19 patients, active AOSD patients, and healthy subjects.
| Non-severe COVID-19 (n = 31) | Severe COVID-19 (n = 24) | Active AOSD (n = 23) | Healthy subjects (n = 31) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gal-3 levels, pg/mL | 4002 (2790-5866)***,### | 4723 (2818-5424)***,## | 9820 (6200-12930)*** | 1897 (1477-2629) |
| Gal-9 levels, pg/mL | 2044 (1385-3303)***,# | 2811 (1866-4371)*** | 4370 (3249-7311)*** | 739 (495-960) |
| sTIM-3 levels, pg/mL | 1838 (1161-3360)## | 2393 (1954-4499)* | 4563 (2759-8240)** | 1351 (1164-1897) |
| IL-1β levels, pg/mL | 6.1 (1.8-12.9)* | 8.8 (4.5-27.0)*** | 6.13 (3.6-12.8)** | 1.7 (1.0-12.6) |
| IL-1Ra levels, pg/mL | 9.0 (4.77-15.6)*** | 13.5 (8.2-41.4)*** | 15.6 (8.8-25.2)*** | 0.8 (0.01-2.5) |
| IL-10 levels, pg/mL | 0.6 (0.3-8.42)#,$ | 6.5 (1.0-15.3)*** | 19.0 (1.6-88.8)*** | 0.6 (0.2-0.6) |
| IFN-α2 levels, pg/mL | 5.9 (12.7-20.26)#,$ $ | 35.7 (14.5-105)*** | 29.5 (18.4-69.4)*** | 2.7 (2.7-10.8) |
| IFN-γ levels, pg/mL | 1.5 (0.7-3.87)### | 3.2 (0.8-10.5) | 17.9 (5.0-45.8)** | 1.8 (1.0-6.1) |
| IL-17A levels, pg/mL | 1.7 (0.7-4.2)### | 3.7 (1.83-11.02) | 14.3 (6.5-307.7)** | 2.0 (1.7-3.8) |
| IL-6 levels, pg/mL | 2.4 (0.6-4.5)***,# | 13.8 (3.68-29.98)*** | 35.6 (2.2-1500)*** | 0.1 (0.02-0.3) |
| TNF-α levels, pg/mL | 18.3 (11.0-29.3)***,## | 29.1 (19.6-70.2)*** | 54.0 (27.3-27.3)*** | 7.2 (4.5-12.2) |
| IL-18 levels, pg/mL | 29.9 (18.2-46.0)**,### | 40.4 (31.1-69.4)***,### | 2768 (966.1-6754)*** | 6.1 (4.3-12.3) |
| Ferritin levels, ng/mL | 209 (191-240)***,### | 220 (195-240)***,### | 1111 (382.4-4200)*** | 57 (53-59) |
Data are presented as median (25th -75th quartile range); COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019; AOSD, adult-onset Still’s disease; Gal-3, galectin-3; Gal-9, galectin-9; sTIM-3, soluble cell immunoglobulin and mucin-containing-molecule-3; IFN, interferon; IL, interleukin; IL-1Ra, interleukin-1 receptor antagonist; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-α.
*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, vs. healthy subjects, as determined by Kruskal-Wallis test using a post-hoc Dunn’s test.
#p < 0.05, ##p < 0.01, ###p < 0.001, vs. active AOSD, as determined by Kruskal-Wallis test using a post-hoc Dunn’s test.
$p < 0.05, $$p < 0.01, non-severe COVID-19 vs. severe COVID-19, as determined by Kruskal-Wallis test using a post-hoc Dunn’s test.