Comparison between T cell subsets and cytokine production in BALF and blood in patients with systemic sclerosis
| Blood | BALF | p Value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Values are mean (SD). | |||
| CD8+ T cell counts, TNFα, and IL-1β were significantly higher in patients’ BALF than in blood (p<0.01, p<0.001, and p<0.01, respectively). Moreover, CD4+ T cell counts the CD4/CD8 ratio in BALF were significantly lower than in blood (p<0.05 and p<0.01, respectively). BALF, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; IL-1β, interleukin 1β; TNFα, tumour necrosis factor α. | |||
| CD4+ cell count | 63.0 (3.3) | 51.1 (4.9) | <0.05 |
| CD8+ cell count | 22.7 (3.4) | 35.7 (2.6) | <0.01 |
| CD4/CD8 ratio | 2.8 (0.2) | 1.4 (0.1) | <0.01 |
| TNFα (pg/ml) | 38.6 (7.6) | 136.8 (50.7) | <0.001 |
| IL-1β (pg/ml) | 21.6 (9.4) | 49.5 (11.9) | <0.01 |