Figure 3
From: The effect of smoking on chronic inflammation, immune function and blood cell composition
Incubation of whole blood samples from smokers yields higher levels of cytokines/chemokines in the presence or absence of HSV-1 but lower levels with E. coli. Whole fresh blood from smokers and controls were incubated for 7 h at 37 °C in the absence or presence of E. coli or HSV-1 and the conditioned plasma analyzed for the cytokine/chemokine levels using Luminex beads. (a) A comparison of plasma IL-8 levels from whole blood samples taken at time 0 or after 7 h of incubation in the absence of stimulation from smokers and controls. (b) A comparison of the plasma levels for 11 of the 15 cytokines/chemokines tested (selected on the basis of having a significant difference (P < 0.05) between smokers and controls). Shown are the levels obtained after 7 h of incubation without (C) or with stimulation by E. coli or HSV-1.
