Notably, for our in-house assay only the TLR9 agonist CpG ODN increased IFN-γ responses in whole blood of tuberculosis patients, albeit the effect did not reach statistical significance, i.e. 6,768 ± 21,097 mlU/ml vs. 2,971 ± 4,780 mlU/ml, p = 0.31 (Fig. 2; Table 3). Here, TLR9 is linked to tuberculosis.