TNF and infection: In addition, LPS-stimulated IL-1β, TNF-α and IL-6 production by whole blood showed a trend to an increase compared to TB mice, indicating an enhanced capacity of immune cells to mount acute infection-like responses ex vivo. By contrast, LPS-stimulated PGE2 production was decreased significantly in the TB-SNC group, which might be explained by the absence of high PGE2 levels in plasma or by the inhibitory effect of the complete mixture in the ex vivo situation.