Figure 6. Distinct expression patterns of pro (TNF-α and IFN-γ) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β) in eight mouse strains infected with P. chabaudi show that host resilience to malaria infection is linked to the strength and balance in cytokine expressions.

Raw temporal expression intensity in (a) uninfected control and (b) infected mice between day 3 and 9 post-infection. (c) The intensity of cytokine expression scaled by the median iRBC density of the strain per day. A higher value indicates higher propensity to express cytokines against the same density of parasites on a given day. (d) The ratio of pro- to anti-inflammatory cytokine expressions. Shown are additive expressions (i.e. TNF-α + IFN-γ and IL-10 + TGF-β), but multiplicative expression patterns (i.e. TNF-α × IFN-γ and IL-10 × TGF-β) were qualitatively identical (results not shown). The points and error bars are the means and standard deviations, respectively. For each day, the strains are ordered from left to right according to host survival as listed in Figure 1.