However, when dividing female RA and female healthy controls according to the cutoff values of hsa_circ_0140271, the results showed that IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α expression was higher in the hsa_circ_0140271 positive group (Fig. 4c–e), while there was no significant difference in the level of IL-1α, IL-1β and INF-γ between two groups (Fig. 4a, b, f). This evidence concerns the gene IL6 and rheumatoid arthritis.