It is recognized that a balance of different cytokines (synergistic versus antagonistic cytokines) determines the outcome in regulation of different actions such as inflammation, polarization, and secretion of macrophages, induction and secretion of T helper cells, and angiogenesis. It is also known that cytokine secretion is highly variable between individuals. These facts red flag the practice of only comparing absolute values of 1 or 2 cytokines in various studies. It is recognized that ratios of opposing functions yield better quantification of the equilibrium than just observing single values. It is the purpose of this article to (1) emphasize the need to measure a combination of cytokines selected in a manner so that ratios of these may be derived to yield more information about the homeostasis in body and (2) to offer a list of synergistic and antagonistic cytokines from which future investigators may select for more meaningful results.

中文翻译：

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细胞因子分析：新视角

众所周知，不同细胞因子（协同与拮抗细胞因子）的平衡决定了不同作用的调节结果，例如炎症、极化和巨噬细胞的分泌、T 辅助细胞的诱导和分泌以及血管生成。还已知细胞因子分泌在个体之间是高度可变的。这些事实表明在各种研究中只比较 1 或 2 种细胞因子的绝对值的做法。人们认识到，与仅观察单个值相比，相反函数的比率可以更好地量化平衡。