IL6 and infection: The data showed that the increased expression of IL-6 in macrophages infected with the ΔCRISPR and WT + psag0671 strains was restored to the level seen in WT-infected macrophages after adding the TLR2 inhibitor C29 (Figure 8C, D), suggesting that the increased expression of IL-6 in response to infection by ΔCRISPR was due to hyperstimulation of TLR2.