STAT6 and infection: The significance of parasite-induced STAT6 activation was confirmed by showing a 92% reduction in arg1 mRNA expression when STAT6 was knocked-down (similar to the reduction obtained with arg1-specific knockdown) compared to a control non-targeting miRNAi (p<0.001; Fig. 7G) and enhanced control of intracellular parasite replication in BHK cells (equivalent infection after 4 hrs but significantly reduced parasite burden at 24, 48, and 72 hrs post-infection compared to non-transfected cells or cells transfected with a non-targeting miRNAi construct (p = 0.001; Fig. 7H).