Effect of Th17 and Treg Axis Disorder on Outcomes of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Connective Tissue Diseases

Table 2

Concentrations of serum cytokines and NT-proBNP determined by radioimmunoassay or Elecsys NT-proBNP sandwich immunoassay (pg/mL).

Variable	Control ()	CTD ()	CTD-aPAH
			Total ()	Mild to moderate ()	Severe ()
IL-17a	56.54 ± 13.95	65.47 ± 19.77*	74.68 ± 25.28^*#	66.50 ± 21.40
IL-6		86.05 ± 35.83*	97.26 ± 39.34*	88.00 ± 38.40	103.84 ± 39.28
IFN-		1002.62 ± 273.61*	1083.08 ± 275.64*		1131.68 ± 264.09
IL-2		686.48 ± 183.92*	719.53 ± 241.91*
TNF-		329.65 ± 102.05*	361.34 ± 118.41*
TGF-		93.91 ± 21.50*	71.17 ± 18.95^*#
NT-pro BNP		215.94 ± 78.20*	453.04 ± 149.50^*#

*Compared with control group, ; ^#compared with CTD group, ; ^§compared with mild to moderate CTD-aPAH group, .