Balance between survivin, a key member of the apoptosis inhibitor family, and its specific antibodies determines erosivity in rheumatoid arthritis

Table 2 Clinical comparison of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) expressing high* and low levels of survivin

	Survivin high, erosive RA (n = 27)	P	Survivin low, erosive RA (n = 61)	P	Survivin low, non-erosive RA (n = 42)^†
Survivin levels (pg/ml)
Blood	1180 ± 309	<0.0001	97 ± 9	0.013	127 ± 5
Synovial fluid	1039 ± 523	0.016	132 ± 4	n.s.	124 ± 2
Disease duration (years)	15.5 ± 2.4	n.s.	13.6 ± 1.2	0.0002	8.3 ± 1.4
Age (years)	58 ± 3	n.s.	60 ± 2	0.05	53 ± 3
Rheumatoid factor-positive (n)	25	n.s.	53	<0.0001	10
C-reactive protein (mg/l)	45 ± 9	0.035	29 ± 5	n.s.	39 ± 7
White blood cell count (× 10⁹/ml)
Blood	8.7 ± 0.6	0.038	7.2 ± 0.3	n.s.	7.1 ± 0.3
Synovial fluid	10.8 ± 1.9	n.s.	11.2 ± 2.9	n.s.	13.1 ± 2.8

Continuous parameters are presented as the mean ± standard error of the mean. n.s., not significant. *Level of survivin above 300 pg/ml was considered 'high'. ^†One patient having a high survivin level is excluded.

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