However, in the current study, it was demonstrated that unlike the situation observed for A. fumigatus infection in hBECs where the mRNA expressions of CXCL8, CXCL10, and TNF during the early infection stage (within the first 24 h post-infection) in the host cells were markedly up-regulated, no significant change in the mRNA expressions of these cytokines was detected in hBECs upon encountering T. marneffei live conidia (Fig. 5A). Here, TNF is linked to infection.