IFNG and tuberculosis: With regards to mRNA (as assessed by real-time PCR), the percentage of IFN-γ was slightly higher in the TB group (n = 22) than in the controls (n = 16) with borderline significance (5859- vs. 4270-fold increase compared to negative control, p = 0.040), whereas the percentage of IL-17 was significantly lower in the TB group (2584- vs. 20641-fold increase, p < 0.001) (Fig. 2).