TNF and infection: Compared with Ms_Vec, Ms_PE_PGRS19 infection caused up-regulated expression of tnf-α, il-6, il-1β, and il-18 genes accompanied by reduced expression of il-10 in the absence of NSA (Figure 4D), whereas pretreatment of macrophages with NSA prior to Ms_PE_PGRS19 infection resulted in a significant decrease in the transcript levels of il-6, il-1β, and il-18, except for tnf-α (Figure 4E), which suggested that PE_PGRS19-triggered release of pro-inflammatory cytokines may be involved in macrophage pyroptosis.