Cytokine production in supernatants of stimulated biliary epithelial cells (BECs) incubated with anti-BECs antibodies
| Group | IL-1β (pg/ml) | IL-2 (pg/ml) | IL-4 (pg/ml) | IL-6 (pg/ml) | TNF-α (pg/ml) | TGF-β (pg/ml) | IFN-γ (pg/ml) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cytokines were determined after 12 hours of stimulation. | |||||||
| PSC, primary sclerosing cholangitis; PBC, primary biliary cirrhosis; AIH, autoimmune hepatitis; IL, interleukin; TNF-α, tumour necrosis factor α; TGF-β, transforming growth factor β; IFN-γ, interferon γ; w/0 abs, patients without anti-BEC antibodies. | |||||||
| ***PSC v normals, p<0.001; PBC v normals, p<0.001. | |||||||
| PSC | <10 | <30 | <10 | 2620 (461)*** | <50 | <30 | <30 |
| PBC | <10 | <30 | <10 | 1696 (349)*** | <50 | <30 | <30 |
| AIH | <10 | <30 | <10 | 577 (584) | <50 | <30 | <30 |
| Normals | <10 | <30 | <10 | 652 (132) | <50 | <30 | <30 |
| PSC w/o abs | <10 | <30 | <10 | 652 (257) | <50 | <30 | <30 |
| PBC w/o abs | <10 | <30 | <10 | 715 (208) | <50 | <30 | <30 |