Fig. 4.

MAIT cells are major contributor to the total cytokine production in response to GAS. MAIT cells were depleted from PBMC and the PBMC with (+) or without (−) MAIT cells were stimulated with fixed GAS 2006, GAS 2006 supernatant, or recombinant SpeJ. Total cytokine levels in the cell culture supernatants were assessed using a multiplex assay. (A and B) Concentration (pg/mL) of cytokines in the culture supernatants after (A) 8 h or (B) 24 h of stimulation. Lines in the graph represent individual donors (n = 8–9). IL-1β levels were indicated as out of range after stimulation with fixed bacteria, and are therefore marked in red. The paired t test was used to detect significant differences between paired samples. ***P < 0.001; **P < 0.01; *P < 0.05; ns, nonsignificant.