Fig. 1

Effect of time and blood dilution on TNF-α production in whole blood culture. Time-dependent TNF-α production was measured in equine whole blood cell culture supernatants obtained from different blood volume dilutions after stimulation by LPS (1000 ng/ml) (a) and PCPwL (100 ng/ml) (b). 10 % (■), 20 % (▲), and 50 % (▼) whole blood volumes were used to assess TNF-α over 72 h (hr). Data represent means ± SEM of three different horses. ** p < 0.001/* p < 0.05/(*) 0.05 ≥ p < 0.1 versus 10 % BC, ^## p < 0.001/^# p < 0.05/(^#) 0.05 ≥ p < 0.1 versus 20 % BC. BC, blood concentration