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Fig. 4 | Arthritis Research & Therapy

Fig. 4

From: The presence of anti-nuclear antibodies alone is associated with changes in B cell activation and T follicular helper cells similar to those in systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease

Fig. 4

Cellular immunologic changes seen in asymptomatic anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA)+ individuals who do not have elevations of type I interferons (IFNs). Asymptomatic ANA+ individuals were defined as having normal levels of type I IFNs (IFNlo) if their IFN5 score was < 2 SD above the mean for ANA− healthy controls (HC) (all had undetectable levels of serum IFN-α on ELISA). Shown are cellular phenotypes (a % CD86+ B cells (CD86+ on B cells), b % CD4 cells producing IFN-γ (IFNγ/CD4) and c % invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT))  that were significantly different in IFNlo asymptomatic ANA+ individuals as compared to HC. Cell populations were defined and gated as outlined in Figs. 1 and 2. Bars represent the mean with SEM. Every data point represents an individual patient. Statistical significance was determined using the Mann-Whitney U test; *p ≤ 0.05, **p ≤ 0.01

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Arthritis Research & Therapy

ISSN: 1478-6362

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