Figure 5

Reduced cytokine production by B cells after toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) stimulation in patients with higher anti-dsDNA antibody titers. The anti-dsDNA antibodies were measured in the serum of the patients simultaneously with the TLR9 activation of B cells. There were a number of significant inverse correlations between serum anti-dsDNA-antibody titers and TLR9 induced cytokines (IL-1ra, IL-6, IL-9, IL-17A, IFN-γ, MIP-1α, MIP-1β, TNF-α, and VEGF) in SLE patients (Spearman r correlation test, P <0.05 and **P <0.01). MIP, macrophage inflammatory proteins; VEGF, vascular endothelial growth factor.