Fig. 3

Increased interferon-α (IFN-α) production by plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) was not associated with treatments in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The proportions of pDCs producing IFN-α in patient groups receiving different medications from the data shown in Figs. 1 and 2; patient samples examined in both experiments are included. Each symbol represents the value of one individual. The box plot indicates the first and third quartiles and the middle line indicates the median. Whiskers indicate the minimum and maximum. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ****p < 0.001 (Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s multiple comparisons test). PSL prednisone, AZA azathioprine, TAC tacrolimus