FIGURE 1.

Lower expression levels of interleukin‐22 (IL‐22) in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) were associated with increased disease severity. (A) The plasma IL‐22 level in healthy controls (n = 16) and IPF patients (n = 24). (B) The mRNA expressions of IL‐22 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of healthy controls (HC, n = 16) and IPF patients (n = 24) (The values were normalized to GAPDH). (C) Western blot of analysis of protein expression of IL‐22 in the lung tissues. (D) The quantification of (C). (E) The plasma IL‐22 level was negative with computed tomography (CT) scores in IPF patients (n = 20). (F) The plasma IL‐22 level was positive with forced expiratory volume at 1 s predicted percent (FEV1% pred) in IPF patients