STAT3 and aspergillosis: However, when STAT3-deficient patients were categorized with and without aspergillosis (STAT3-asp and STAT3–w/o-asp, respectively), we observed that the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by PBMCs upon interaction with A. fumigatus conidia, including TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 (day-1) but also IFN-γ (day-5) were significantly lower in STAT3-asp compared to STAT3–w/o-asp patients (Figures 4A,B).