Figure 3.

In vitro cytokine production from PBMCs after HBsAg stimulation in 6-month-old subjects and controls. PBMC secretion of IL-2, IL-5, IL-6 and IL-10 after a 72-h incubation with HBsAg from eight neonatal subjects born to HBsAg⁺ mothers (•) and five neonatal controls (○) at 6 months of age. The data were compared by Mann–Whitney test: IL-2 expression was significantly higher in the subject group compared to the control group (P<0.005). Each dot represents a single donor and horizontal bars represent the mean values. HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antigen; PBMC, peripheral blood mononuclear cell.