Absolute and relative levels of cytokines in study participants.

Plasma levels of TNF-∝, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-10, IL-12 and TGF-β for 75 samples from symptomatic malaria patients and apparently healthy controls had been previously reported [23] and here are combined with IL-6, sTNFRI and sTNFRII measurements in these same samples and a complete analysis of additional samples. Data are expressed as median (interquartile range) unless stated otherwise and compared across three or four groups with Kruskal-Wallis tests (continuous variables) or χ2 tests (proportions); P values for this comparison across groups are presented in the right-hand column. When comparisons across groups showed statistical significance, further pairwise comparisons were made using Mann-Whitney tests (continuous variables) or χ2 tests (proportions). Values with different superscripts across a row indicate pairwise comparisons with statistical significance at the 5% level. The same value may have more than one superscript. When pairs of values across a row share one superscript (either the only or one of the superscripts associated with them), no statistically significant difference was found.