TNF and infection: The relative expression of cytokines in the spleen (Fig. 1) indicates that the experimental infection (C-IF) increases the expression of IL-10 and IL-23, being significantly higher than in the other groups, while the expression of IL-15 (***), INF-γ (*), IL-6 (***), and TNF-α (***) and IL-12 (***), the last three corresponding to a Th1 response, were significantly lower than in the other groups.