Fig. 5.

Longitudinal analysis of circulating dendritic cells (DC) and interferon (IFN)-α production in tuberculosis (TB) patients with different clinical outcome. Thirteen patients with TB were studied before and after 3 months and 6 months of anti-tuberculous treatment. (a) Patients with full recovery at the end of the treatment (n = 9); (b) patients who did not improve after complete specific treatment (n = 4). The number of circulating plasmacytoid DC (pDC) increased significantly over time between the 3th and 6th month only in responder patients (P = 0·006, Wilcoxon's signed-rank test). In addition there was a significant increase in IFN-α levels (P < 0·001, Wilcoxon's signed-rank test).