Table 1.
Baseline characteristics of 132 Japanese patients with RA.
Fig 1.
Relationship between serum levels of TNF–α and IL–6 in RA patients.
The serum levels of IL–6 and TNF–α were elevated and be not correlated with each other.
Table 2.
Correlation of baseline serum levels of cytokines biomarkers.
Fig 2.
Relationship between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and RA disease activity (DAS28–ESR) in the sub–grouped RA patients according to the titers of ACPA.
There were significant positive correlations between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and RA disease activity (DAS28–ESR), and these correlations were not modulated by the status of ACPA titer. The correlations were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test.
Fig 3.
Relationship between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and Gal–9 in the sub–grouped RA patients according to the titers of ACPA.
There were significant correlations between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and Gal–9, and these correlations were not modulated by the high status of ACPA titers. The correlations were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test.
Fig 4.
Relationship between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and sTIM–3 in the sub–grouped RA patients according to the titers of ACPA.
There were significant correlations between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and sTIM–3 in RA patients with low-medium levels of ACPA titers (<200 U/mL). However, there was no significant correlation between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and sTIM–3 in RA patients with high titers of ACPA (≥200 IU/mL). The correlations were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test.
Fig 5.
Relationship between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and Gal–9 in RA patients with or without advanced joint damage.
(A) There was a significant correlation between IL–6 and Gal–9 in RA patients without advanced joint damage (Stage I). (B) Conversely, there was a significant correlation between TNF–α and Gal–9 in RA patients with advanced rheumatoid joint damage (Stage II–IV). The correlations were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test.
Fig 6.
Relationship between serum levels of cytokines (IL–6 or TNF–α) and Gal–9 in RA patients with high ACPA titers (≥200 IU/mL).
(A) There was a significant correlation between IL–6 and Gal–9 in RA patients without advanced joint damage (Stage I). (B) In contrast, there was a significant correlation between TNF–α and Gal–9 in RA patients with advanced rheumatoid joint damage (Stage II–IV). The correlations were determined using Spearman’s rank correlation test.