Fig. 6: IL-31 up-regulated Th2- and fibrosis-related cytokines in BLM-SSc mice.
From: Interleukin-31 promotes fibrosis and T helper 2 polarization in systemic sclerosis
a Relative mRNA expression levels of Il4, Il6, Il10, Il17a, Tnf, Tgfb1, and Ifng in the skin and lungs were evaluated by real-time PCR. Exact p values (PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. PBS-Ctrl + IL-31, PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. BLM-SSc + sham, PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31, PBS-Ctrl + IL-31 vs. BLM-SSc + sham, PBS-Ctrl + IL-31 vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31, BLM-SSc + sham vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31) = 0.866, 0.039, 0.00006, 0.162, 0.0003, 0.021 (Il4, skin); 0.403, 0.00000000006, 0.0000000000002, 0.0000000003, 0.0000000000004, 0.000001 (Il6, skin); 0.034, 0.004, 0.000003, 0.699, 0.0007, 0.007 (Il10, skin); 0.926, 0.000007, 0.0000005, 0.00002, 0.000001, 0.344 (Il17a, skin); 0.977, 0.012, 0.063, 0.005, 0.029, 0.832 (Tnf, skin); 0.572, 0.0001, 0.00000001, 0.001, 0.00000008, 0.0001 (Tgfb1, skin); 0.428, 0.00007, 0.002, 0.001, 0.040, 0.361 (Ifng, skin); 0.00008, 0.003, 0.0000002, 0.286, 0.008, 0.0002 (Il4, lung); 0.023, 0.00001, 0.0000001, 0.007, 0.00002, 0.038 (Il6, lung); 0.002, 0.227, 0.00003, 0.085, 0.231, 0.002 (Il10, lung); 0.192, 0.000008, 0.000001, 0.0004, 0.00005, 0.686 (Il17a, lung); 0.641, 0.013, 0.041, 0.127, 0.321, 0.937 (Tnf, lung); 0.967, 0.0002, 0.0000005, 0.0005, 0.000001, 0.014 (Tgfb1, lung); 0.973, 0.00003, 0.0001, 0.00007, 0.0003, 0.868 (Ifng, lung). Relative fold differences (PBS-Ctrl + IL-31, BLM-SSc + sham, BLM-SSc + IL-31) = 1.55, 3.12, 5.45 (Il4, skin); 2.14, 13.09, 19.11 (Il6, skin); 2.59, 3.15, 5.16 (Il10, skin); 1.22, 3.63, 4.24 (Il17a, skin); 0.89, 1.97, 1.74 (Tnf, skin); 1.34, 2.57, 4.12 (Tgfb1, skin); 1.68, 3.71, 2.98 (Ifng, skin); 3.59, 2.81, 5.20 (Il4, lung); 5.56, 10.92, 15.12 (Il6, lung); 2.29, 1.56, 2.85 (Il10, lung); 2.35, 5.74, 6.45 (Il17a, lung); 1.27, 1.81, 1.68 (Tnf, lung); 1.16, 2.98, 4.22 (Tgfb1, lung); 1.22, 4.34, 3.95 (Ifng, lung). b Protein levels of TGF-β1 were evaluated by ELISA. Exact p values (PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. PBS-Ctrl + IL-31, PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. BLM-SSc + sham, PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31, PBS-Ctrl + IL-31 vs. BLM-SSc + sham, PBS-Ctrl + IL-31 vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31, BLM-SSc + sham vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31) = 0.924, 0.00006, 0.0000003, 0.0002, 0.0000007, 0.022 (skin); 0.805, 0.00003, 0.0000004, 0.0002, 0.000002, 0.076 (lung). c, d Relative mRNA levels and protein levels of Ctgf were evaluated by real-time PCR (c) and ELISA (d), respectively. Exact p values (PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. PBS-Ctrl + IL-31, PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. BLM-SSc + sham, PBS-Ctrl + sham vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31, PBS-Ctrl + IL-31 vs. BLM-SSc + sham, PBS-Ctrl + IL-31 vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31, BLM-SSc + sham vs. BLM-SSc + IL-31) = 0.912, 0.000000003, 0.0000000005, 0.000000007, 0.000000001, 0.391 (Ctgf, skin); 0.967, 0.00000007, 0.000000009, 0.0000001, 0.00000002, 0.393 (Ctgf, lung); 0.972, 0.00006, 0.00002, 0.00003, 0.00001, 0.941 (CTGF, skin); 0.933, 0.005, 0.006, 0.017, 0.019, 0.999 (CTGF, lung). Relative fold difference (PBS-Ctrl + IL-31, BLM-SSc + sham, BLM-SSc + IL-31) = 1.14, 3.79, 4.13 (skin); 1.12, 3.86, 4.30 (lung). e Relative mRNA expression levels of Mmp3, Mmp9, Mmp13, Timp1, Timp2, and Timp3 were assessed in the lungs of BLM-SSc mice by real-time PCR. Exact p values = 0.008 (Mmp3); 0.016 (Mmp9); 0.008 (Mmp13); 0.008 (Timp1); 0.008 (Timp2); 0.008 (Timp3). Relative fold differences = 0.79 (Mmp3); 0.72 (Mmp9); 0.68 (Mmp13); 2.06 (Timp1); 1.42 (Timp2); 1.26 (Timp3). n = 5. Data are shown as mean ± SD. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, and ***p < 0.001. Significance was determined using one-way analysis of variance followed by Tukey’s post hoc comparison test (a-d) and two-tailed Mann–Whitney U test (e). The results shown are representative of three independent experiments with similar results. PBS-Ctrl, PBS-treated control. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
