Figure 7. Real -Time PCR analysis for transcripts of suppressers (IL-4 and GATA-3) and enhancers (IFN-α) of IL-12Rβ2 mRNA in 28 tuberculosis patients and healthy volunteers.

The Box plots represents the expression levels of IL-4 (Panel A), IFN-α (Panel B) and GATA-3 (Panel C) mRNA expression among the untreated Tuberculosis patients and healthy volunteers (HV), as estimated by Real-Time PCR. The patients were categorized based on IL-12Rβ2 mRNA levels detected and the presence of C/T allele at the −237 position, (Figure 6). Target gene expression was normalized with β-actin gene expression. The data has been calculated with the 2^−ΔCt formula, as described in methods. The horizontal bar represents the median value for mRNA in each group, the 25^th and 75^th percentile have been represented by the boxes. The whiskers represent the maximum and minimum values of the data, respectively. The data has been plotted on log₁₀ scale. Low-C: Low IL-12Rβ2 mRNA expressers with allele C at −237 position (N = 8); Low-T: Low IL-12Rβ2 mRNA expressers with polymorphic allele T at −237 position (N = 3); High–C: High IL-12Rβ2 mRNA expressers with allele C at −237 position (N = 17); HV: Healthy volunteers free of tuberculosis (N = 28). To compare the transcript levels between groups, non-parametric Mann-Whitney Test was applied. (*) - Significant differences in transcript levels between compared groups have been indicated. Panel A: Low-C Vs Low-T, p = 0.01; Low-C Vs HV, p = 0.002; Low-C Vs High-C (⋅⋅⋅⋅⋅) p = 0.02; Low-T Vs High-C, p = 0.02;Low-T Vs HV & High-C Vs HV, not significant. Panel B: Low-C Vs High-C (⋅⋅⋅⋅), p = 0.04; High-C Vs HV, p = 0.002; Low-T Vs HV, p = 0.05. Panel C: Low-C Vs Low-T, p = 0.05; Low-C Vs HV, p = 0.02; High-C Vs HV, p = 0.04; Low-C Vs High-C, and Low-T Vs HV not significant.