Although there was significant heterogeneity in size of these granulomas (Figures 4G,H), we found that the frequency of infected KCs that formed distinct granulomas was increased ~1.5-fold in mice pretreated with IL-15 and which had a higher number of NKT cells in the liver at the time of infection (P = 0.0038; Figure 4F). This evidence concerns the gene TBCE and infection.