In order to study the kinetics of the ability of the bacteria to induce IL-17 protein expression, ini-tial experiments were performed by stimulating the PBMC from 10 healthy donors (not the same donors as in the above experiment) with live B. pseu-domallei or live B. thailandensis at an MOI ratio of 10:1 compared to unstimulated PBMC in similar cul-ture conditions as above but during a 3- to 24-hour period.