Multiplex Cytokine Concentration Measurement: How Much Do the Medium and Handling Matter?

Table 2

Percentage of samples measured as below the assay detection limit or out of range in serum and plasma at the baseline condition. Each cell marked with “—” indicates that the analyte was not detectable in any sample. The intra-assay coefficient of variation (CV%) and the low concentration CV% are provided for each cytokine.

Cytokine	Intra-assay CV%	Low conc. assay CV%	Baseline
			Plasma		Serum
			Mean (SD) pg/mL	Out-of-range (%)	Mean (SD) pg/mL	Out-of-range (%)
IL-1β	11.8	0.0	2.73 (6.37)	76	2.83 (9.33)	88
IL-2	2.6	3.2	—	100	1.60 (7.85)	96
IL-4	7.9	2.6	2.38 (3.23)	40	0.89 (2.33)	72
IL-5	13.9	7.4	3.87 (7.07)	64	1.14 (3.85)	92
IL-6	7.9	8.3	13.72 (35.51)	76	270.63 (1197.25)	80
IL-7	9.9	20.1	37.06 (36.09)	96	51.57 (43.04)	92
IL-8	7.7	17.0	51.87 (25.11)	8	59.25 (33.93)	4
TNF-α	7.4	2.7	35.22 (62.85)	52	45.92 (125.44)	84
IFN-γ	6.1	5.2	68.07 (132.47)	64	134.82 (423.19)	80
IL-10	8.9	5.4	—	100	58.16 (201.74)	92
IL-12p70	6.4	3.8	36.89 (90.47)	40	22.42 (19.35)	4
IL-13	11.0	2.6	80.18 (341.62)	48	4.43 (10.02)	56
IL-17	5.1	2.9	3.21 (15.71)	96	25.08 (122.85)	96
G-CSF	7.3	0.0	87.77 (82.43)	40	25.72 (61.50)	68
GM-CSF	14.7	1.0	—	100	—	100
MCP-1	6.3	8.6	129.37 (82.22)	4	147.31 (94.57)	4
MIP-1β	5.4	5.2	397.88 (364.30)	12	650.01 (444.19)	12