Figure 6.

Mtb replication and immunomodulation is not impaired by pe_pgrs33 polymorphisms in PBMCs infections. PBMCs were infected at a MOI of 1:1 with Mtb H37Rv, the MtbΔ33 mutant and complemented strains (MtbΔ33::33^all11, MtbΔ33::33^all3, MtbΔ33::33^all5, MtbΔ33::33^all6, and MtbΔ33::33^all18). Mycobacterial replication was assessed by CFUs enumeration of total mycobacteria at 72 h post-infection (A). For each Mtb strain, mean value of CFUs obtained in triplicate from PBMCs infection of all 4 donors and the respective standard deviation are reported. Bars indicate the median. Supernatants collected at 72 h post-infection were assessed for TNF-α, IL-1β, and IFN-γ (B). For all Mtb strains, each symbol corresponds to the mean of triplicates obtained from PBMCs infections of 3 or 4 healthy donors, depending on the cytokine panel. Bars indicate the median. For both CFUs and cytokine analysis, none statistically significant difference was observed compared to Mtb H37Rv (Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett's multiple comparison test).