Unraveling Major Inflammatory Cytokines Serum Distribution Patterns in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients: Insights from the CYTOCON Database
Authors: Leonov Vladislav , Mogilevskaya Ekaterina , Gerasimuk Elita , Pervushin Nikolay , Gizzatkulov Nail , Demin Oleg 
Published: February 2025

Objectives: The Cell and CYTOkine CONcentrations DataBase (CYTOCON DB) is a manually curated repository detailing human baseline concentrations of cytokines and cells across healthy individuals and patients with diverse pathologies [1]. An important feature of CYTOCON DB is its potential for predictive analytics, allowing users to estimate and compare baseline cell or cytokine concentrations across different patient populations and diseases. Aim of this study was to assess distribution of main inflammatory cytokines in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and compare to healthy individuals (HC).Methods:-A dataset containing IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α concentrations in the serum of HC and patients with SLE was downloaded from CYTOCON DB. The database catalogs over 80,000 standardized (pM and kcells/L concrete to Mean±SD) cytokine and cell concentrations from peer-reviewed sources [2]. It simplifies the preliminary stages of data analysis by providing structured CSV datasets with descriptive statistics. Density plots were created based on patient data from each source, assuming normal distribution and omitting negative values. Statistical significance was determined by t-test. Data represented as Mean±SD.Results: For IL-1α, the bar plot shows a higher mean concentration with greater variability in HC compared to SLE (1.018±1.960 pM vs. 0.447±0.403 pM), though the difference is statistically insignificant. The density plot indicates higher density at lower concentrations for HC, peaking around 0.2-0.4 pM, while SLE density is slightly lower but concentrated around the same range.For IL-1β, the bar plot shows similar mean and comparable variability between HC and SLE (0.590±1.485 pM vs. 0.575±0.901 pM). The density plot reveals a peak in HC at around 0.2-0.4 pM, while SLE has two peaks at 0.2-0.3 and 0.6-0.7 pM, suggesting a broader distribution and potentially different regulation among SLE patients.For IL-6, the bar plot indicates a slightly higher mean concentration with more variability in HC compared to SLE (0.503±1.260 pM vs. 0.728±1.085 pM). The density plot shows high density around 0.1-0.2 pM for both groups, with HC having slightly higher density.For TNF-α, the bar plot shows significantly lower concentrations in HC than in SLE (0.928±3.305 pM vs. 1.972±4.418 pM). The density plot reveals a peak around 0.1-0.2 pM for HC and a broader distribution with peaks at slightly higher concentrations for SLE. Conclusion: Density plots offer deeper insights into cytokine distributions, revealing patterns beyond mean values. They are particularly useful for identifying distinct subpopulations and informing further research. CYTOCON DB simplifies the creation and interpretation of density plots, enabling researchers to effectively visualize and compare cytokine data. This enhances the understanding of immune responses in conditions like SLE.Citations: [1] Leonov, V., Mogilevskaya, E., Gerasimuk, E., Gizzatkulov, N. & Demin, O. CYTOCON: The manually curated database of human in vivo cell and molecule concentrations. CPT Pharmacometrics Syst Pharmacol (2022) doi:10.1002/psp4.12867[2] “CYTOCON DB Open.” Accessed May 15, 2024. http://www.cytocon-open.insysbio.com