Demographic characteristics of participants recruited to the study.

a<p>Medians (range).</p>b<p>Hp+; <i>H. pylori</i> infected, Hp-; <i>H. pylori</i> uninfected.</p

IL-17 and IFN-γ responses to <i>H. pylori</i> antigens in PBMCs.

<p>IL-17 (A) and IFN-γ (B) production from PBMCs isolated from Bangladeshi infants (n = 20), children (n = 10) and adults (n = 18) was analyzed after stimulation with <i>H. pylori</i> MP. Filled symbols represent <i>H. pylori</i> infected participants (Hp+) and open symbols <i>H. pylori</i> uninfected participants (Hp-). Responses to medium alone have been subtracted from the values shown. Horizontal lines represent median values (**<i>P</i><0.01).</p

Polyclonal cytokine responses in CD4⁺ T cells after anti-CD3/CD28 stimulation.

<p>Production of IL-17 (A), IFN-γ (B), IL-13 (C), IL-5 (D) and IL-4 (E) by CD4⁺ T cells isolated from <i>H. pylori</i> infected infants (n = 9) and adults (n = 8) was analyzed after stimulation with beads coated with anti-CD3 and anti-CD28 antibodies. Horizontal lines represent median values (*<i>P</i><0.05).</p

Polyclonal IL-17 and IFN-γ responses in PBMCs after PHA stimulation.

<p>IL-17 (A) and IFN-γ (B) production from PBMCs isolated from infants (n = 20), children (n = 10) and adults (n = 15) was analyzed after PHA stimulation. Filled symbols represent <i>H. pylori</i> infected participants (Hp+) and open symbols represent <i>H. pylori</i> uninfected participants (Hp-). Responses to medium alone have been subtracted from the values shown. Horizontal lines represent median values (*<i>P</i><0.05, **<i>P</i><0.01***<i>P</i><0.001).</p

IL-1β production from PBMCs and monocytes in response to <i>H. pylori</i> antigens.

<p>IL-1β production from PBMCs (A) and CD14⁺ monocytes (B) isolated from <i>H. pylori</i> infected infants (n = 9) and adults (n = 7) was analysed after stimulation with <i>H. pylori</i> MP. Responses to medium alone have been subtracted from the values shown. Horizontal lines represent median values (*<i>P</i><0.05).</p

Frequencies of different cell types in PBMCs isolated from infants and adults.

a<p>Frequency (%) of CD3⁺CD4⁺ cells among all cells.</p>b<p>Frequency (%) of CD45RO⁺ cells among CD3⁺CD4⁺ cells</p>c<p>Frequency (%) of CD14⁺ cells among all cells.</p><p>Values are expressed as medians (range). n = 10 for adults and n = 10 for infants.</p><p>^***P <0.001; infants versus adults.</p

Levels of different cytokines in culture supernatants after stimulation of PBMCs with <i>H. pylori</i> MP or PHA.

<p>Cytokines were measured by ELISA (IL-13, adults; n = 8 and infants; n = 9) and CBA (IL-5, IL-4, IL-10, TNF-α, IL-2; adults n = 13 and infants; n = 17). Cytokine levels (pg/ml) are expressed as medians (range) after subtraction of responses to medium alone. Lower numbers of samples could be analyzed for IL-13 than the other cytokines, since the IL-13 ELISA analysis required larger sample volumes than the CBA analysis.</p><p>***P<0.001; infants versus adults.</p

Expression of IL-17 and IFN-γ in gastric mucosa.

<p>Levels of IL-17 (A) and IFN-γ (B) mRNA were analyzed in gastric biopsy material collected from <i>H. pylori</i> infected (Hp+, filled symbols) and uninfected (Hp-, open symbols) Bangladeshi (squared symbols) and Swedish (triangular symbols) adults. The gene expression data is indicated as fold change normalized to an internal reference gene (HPRT) and relative to the calibrator sample. Horizontal lines represent median values (***<i>P</i><0.001).</p