Comparison of cytokine expression in plasma or <i>in vitro</i> after <i>M.tb</i> antigen-specific stimulation of PBMCs.

<p><b>A:</b> Data for IL-6 and IL-9 levels in pulmonary tuberculosis patients (TB) and HDs are shown. PBMCs from healthy donors and TB patients were collected for <i>M.tb</i> antigen-specific stimulation <i>in vitro</i>. The IL-6 and IL-9 expression levels in stimulated cell cultures are shown in the panels below. <b>B:</b> GM-CSF and IL-10 levels in plasma from TB patients and healthy donors or in PBMCs following antigen-specific stimulated cell culture. Horizontal bars represent median values, boxes represent the interquartile range (25–75%) and whiskers represent the highest and the lowest values. Horizontal lines indicate a statistically significant difference between groups. *p<0.05; **p<0.005.