Figure 3.

Unimpaired function of T-helper cell 1 lymphocytes from Toxoplasma gondii–infected individuals bearing the susceptible NOD2 rs3135499 genotype. A, Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were harvested from seronegative (SN) individuals and patients with chronic toxoplasmosis with ocular scars (POT) or no eye lesions (NL). PBMCs were then cultured for 8 hours in the presence or absence of parasite antigen (STAg), and cytokine levels were measured in the culture supernatants by a cytometric bead array assay. B, PBMCs were cultured for 20 hours in the presence or absence of STAg and stained for CD4 and the cytokines interleukin 2 (IL-2), interferon γ (IFN-γ), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α). Bars represent mean frequencies (±standard error of the mean) of CD4⁺ T cells producing any of the 7 possible combinations of the cytokines IL-2, IFN-γ, and TNF-α in the SN group (white bars), POT group (grey bars), and NL group (black bars). C, Fraction of the total response comprising cells expressing all 3 cytokines (3), any 2 cytokines (2), or any 1 cytokine (1). D, Production of IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF-α, and interleukin 10 (IL-10) is plotted against the 3 possible genotypes for each of the rs3135499 SNPs for which we found evidence for association with ocular toxoplasmosis.