Article Figures & Data
Tables
- Table 1.
Mean volume of secretions and calculated dilution factors from mucosal sitesa
Secretion type Volume (μl) Dilution Cervical 29.1 ± 3.0 22.0 ± 3.4 Vaginal 17.3 ± 3.0 37.1 ± 3.7 Oral 105 ± 8.1 7.0 ± 1.3 ↵a Volumes and dilutions were calculated based on 40 duplicate samples collected from four women throughout their menstrual cycle. Values are means ± standard errors.
- Table 2.
Cytokine recovery from sponges after a 30-min soak at room temperature or 4°Ca
Protein % Recovery at: Room temp 4°C IL-2 60.1 ± 5.2 55.1 ± 4.3 IL-4 0 0 IL-5 93.7 ± 12.34 88.1 ± 10.9 IL-6 34.8 ± 12.6 40.5 ± 4.4 IL-10 29.6 ± 12.6 54.2 ± 7.4 IL-12 83.5 ± 11.4 78.8 ± 5.4 GM-CSF 62.7 ± 10.6 60.0 ± 3.9 IFN-γ 0 0 IgA 99.5 ± 10.3 98.3 ± 5.6 ↵a Data are means ± standard deviations from three experiments using one wash with high-salt extraction buffer followed by centrifugation at 16,000 × g.
- Table 3.
Cytokine recovery from sponges using final protocol
Protein Molecular mass (kDa)a % Recoveryb IL-1β 17.5 92.0 ± 5.0 IL-2 15 85.3 ± 6.9 IL-4 15–19 5.0 ± 0.7 IL-5 18 90.3 ± 6.8 IL-6 20.8 50.5 ± 2.1 IL-8 8 58.7 ± 3.7 IL-10 18.7 55.1 ± 4.3 IL-12 75 85.9 ± 3.1 IFN-γ 34–50 0 GM-CSF 18–32 63.3 ± 2.0 IgG 150 104.0 ± 6.3 IgA 160 98.3 ± 5.6 - Table 4.
Mean cytokine concentrations in cervical secretions
Cytokine Assay detection limita (pg/ml) Cytokine concnb (pg/ml) No. of samples (n = 14) below detection limitc Cycle day 9 Cycle day 20 IL-5 4.0 14 IL-6 0.104 6,898.4 ± 3,156.6 3,255.4 ± 1,198.6 0 IL-8 10.0 138,297.1 ± 52,503.6 54,415.4 ± 11,208.3 0 IL-10 0.028 342.7 ± 284.2 975.7 ± 864.8 1 IL-12 0.8 322.7 ± 123.2 387.1 ± 262.1 1 ↵a Level of detection was determined based on product information.
↵b All final concentrations were calculated by using a dilution factor and are means ± standard errors for seven women.
↵c IL-10 was below the assay detection limit on cycle day 9 in one patient, while IL-12 was below the detection limit on cycle day 20.
