files of transcription factors {#Sec13}
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*Fasciola gigantica* infection altered the expression of T-bet, GATA-3 and ROR-γτ, with the expression of Foxp3 being least affected (Fig. [2b](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"} and Table [4](#Tab4){ref-type="table"}). Compared with the control, mRNA of T-bet was highly expressed at 98 dpi (*P* = 0.0113), while the expression of the GATA-3, Foxp3 and ROR-γτ genes was upregulated at 28 dpi (*P* = 0.0035, *P* = 0.0424 and *P* = 0.0002, respectively). Spearman's correlation analysis indicated that the expression of T-bet and Foxp3 was correlated (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.63, *P* = 0.0011). Positive correlation was also found between the expression of ROR-γτ and GATA-3 (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.43, *P* = 0.039) or Foxp3 (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.42, *P* = 0.0439) (Fig. [3b](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}). As shown in Fig. [3c](#Fig3){ref-type="fig"}, the mRNA expression of GATA-3 correlated significantly with that of IL-4 (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.54, *P* = 0.0072), but was less correlated with another Th2 cytokine IL-13 (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.017, *P* = 0.9387), whereas, the expression of ROR-γτ was correlated with that of IL-17A (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.54, *P* = 0.0072). There was a tendency of correlation between the expression of T-bet and Th1 cytokine IFN-γ (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.22, *P* = 0.305) or IL-12B (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.33, *P* = 0.1265) and between the expression of Foxp3 and IL-10 (*r* ~(29)~ = 0.38, *P* = 0.0718).

Th1/Th2/Th17/Treg balance {#Sec14}
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To better understand the temporal trends in gene expression of Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg in the liver post-infection, the ratios between the expression of transcription factors were evaluated using the pairwise comparison method (Fig. [2c](#Fig2){ref-type="fig"}). The *RQ* ratio of T-bet/GATA-3 was employed as an indicator of Th1/Th2 cytokine gene expression pattern. This ratio was higher in the liver at 98 dpi when compared to the