Cytokine quantification
Plasma and BAL samples were analyzed using a human magnetic cytokine
panel providing parallel measurement of 35 cytokines and chemokines
(Thermo
Fisher Scientific). The assay was performed according to the
manufacturer’s instructions with the following modification: the samples
were fixed with 100 µL of 1% paraformaldehyde at room temperature for
60 min on a shaker at 700 RPM and washed once before the final
resuspension. All samples were run in duplicate. The samples were
analyzed on a Luminex FLEXMAP 3D instrument.