Figure 3.

Cytokine mRNA expression measured by real-time PCR after infection of PBMC with EHV-4 alone, after co-treatment iPPVO/EHV-4 and after iPPVO treatment. Cytokines measured were IFN-β (A), TNF-α (B), and IL-10 (C). White bars represent mRNA expression at 0 h (T₀), light grey bars represented mRNA expression at 18 hpi, dark grey bars at 24 hpi, and black bars at 48 hpi; n = 3 horses with 3 independent reverse-transcriptase PCR. Data are reported as means ± SEM as fold increase over the T₀. The level of significance was set as p-value < 0.05. Significant differences compared to T₀ are indicated by # and differences between all conditions by star (p < 0.05). The iPPVO/EHV co-infection condition was compared with EHV infection alone or iPPVO treatment alone.