“…Different strains of MTB were cultured in Middlebrook 7H9 broth (Becton Dickinson Difco, Sparks, MD, USA) supplemented with 10% ADC (Becton Dickinson, Sparks, MD USA), 0.4% glycerol, and 0.05% Tween 80. Bacteria were harvested in the mid-log phase, resuspended in RPMI medium, dispersed by aspiration to break clumps, and quantified by the spectrophotometric method, as reported before [15]. For THP1 cell lines, RPMI 1640 (Gibco, Grand Island, NY, USA) supplemented with 10% FCS (Hyclone, Marlborough, MA, USA) and 1× penicillin (stock concentration = 100 U/mL) and streptomycin (stock concentration = 100 µg/mL) was used.…”