Figure 2

Cytokine profile of DexVD3 DC generated from patients with pSS. The cell-free supernatants were collected when harvesting the DC populations and stored in aliquots at -20°C until analysis. The amount of cytokines and chemokines secreted were analyzed using a 25-plex bead assay and the concentrations are given in pg/ml. Each symbol represents an independent sample, n = 9 for supernatants from DC from patients with pSS (filled circles) and n = 3 for supernatants from DC from healthy controls (open squares). GM-CSF and IL-4 were part of the added cytokines and therefore not included in the analysis. Cytokines and chemokines without significant differences between the groups (IL-1β, IL-1RA and Eotaxin) are not shown. The bars show the median and the differences between the secreted amounts of cytokines are marked with the following: *P ≤ 0.05; **P ≤ 0.01; ***P ≤ 0.001. DMSO-, immature DC; DMSO+, LPS-stimulated DC; DexVD3+, LPS-stimulated DC generated in the presence of dexamethasone and 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3; GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; pSS, primary Sjögren's syndrome.