TNF and infection: Consistent with our findings, a recent study on the characterization of EVs released by L. tarentolae revealed that stimulation of PMA-differentiated THP-1 macrophages with those EVs led to the increased release of IFN-γ, TNF, and IL-1β following infection with L. major, compared to THP-1 cells pretreated with EVs derived from L. major (Shokouhy et al., 2022).