Examination of PMN bactericidal activity at earlier time points (2 h post-stimulation; Additional File 1: Fig. S6E) as well as apoptosis and cell death at later intervals (6 h and 24 h post-infection; Additional File 1: Fig. S6A-D) revealed only subtle differences in TNF KO vs. WT PMNs, which were unlikely to be biologically relevant based on their limited magnitude. This evidence concerns the gene TNF and infection.