Fig. 3

Comparison of serum levels of cytokine profiles among severe/critical COVID-19, non-severe COVID-19, and HC subjects. The differences in the levels of a IFN-α2, b IFN-γ, c IL-6, and d TNF-α among severe/critical COVID-19, non-severe COVID-19, and healthy control (HC). The differences in the levels of e IFN-α2, f IFN-γ, g IL-6, and h TNF-αbetween the different time points of blood sampling in the “severe” and “non-severe” groups respectively. COVID-19: coronavirus disease 2019; IFN: interferon; IL: interleukin; TNF-α: tumor necrosis factor-α. Data are presented as a logarithmic scale and box-plot diagrams, with the box encompassing the 25th percentile (lower bar) to the 75th percentile (upper bar). The horizontal line within the box indicates the median value respectively for each group. *p value < 0.05, ***p value < 0.001, determined by the Kruskal-Wallis test with a post-hoc Dunn’s test