3.2 Comparisons of serum concentrations of CXCL13 and anti-dsDNA IgG levels before and after treatment between the SLE anti-dsDNA+ group and SLE anti-dsDNA- group
In our study, the serum levels of CXCL13 were examined before and after treatment between 47 patients in the SLE anti-dsDNA-positive group and 16 patients in the SLE anti-dsDNA-negative group. We found the same tendency towards a significant decrease in the serum levels of CXCL13 after treatment in both groups (p <0.05) (Figure 1a, b). Furthermore, we assessed the differences in the levels of CXCL13 and anti-dsDNA IgG before and after treatment in the SLE anti-dsDNA-positive group. The results showed the same decreasing tendency and a significant decrease in both the CXCL13 and anti-dsDNA levels after treatment (p <0.001) (Figure 1c, d).