Figure 1.

Interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α proinflammatory cytokine responses. IL-6 (A) and TNF-α (C) responses in cord blood mononuclear cell culture supernatants (mean ± standard error of the mean). Background levels of IL-6 in unstimulated culture supernatants were low (range, 34-6364 pg/mL) and did not differ significantly between term and preterm neonates; therefore, for simplicity, graphs denote levels after subtracting background unstimulated cytokine levels. B, Peak IL-6 responses (expressed as the mean percentage of cytokine-producing cells) in monocytes and conventional dendritic cells (cDCs). Agonists used for stimulation are indicated above each graph, with their respective stimulated TLR(s) in brackets. For monocytes, CD14 staining for one preterm infant was not available for technical reasons, and data from only 11 preterm infants therefore are presented. LPS, lipopolysaccharide; NS, unstimulated (bar graphs). * P< .01.