Fig 5.

CRAMP-deficient CD4⁺ T cells can still inhibit the spreading of Pgp3-deficient C. muridarum from the small intestine into the large intestine in Rag2^−/−-recipient mice. Rag2^−/−-recipient mice were adoptively transferred with 1 × 10⁶ donor CD4⁺ T cells purified from IL-22^−/− (panel a, # of recipient mice or n = 4) or CRAMP^−/− mice (panel b, n = 4). The transfer was carried out retro-orbitally twice 3 days before and 1 day after infection, respectively. Mice were infected via intrajejunal inoculation with 1 × 10⁵ IFUs of CMpGP3S. Three days after the inoculation, rectal swabs (Rwb) were collected, and mice were sacrificed to collect small intestine (SI) tissues [jejunum (Jej) and ileum (Ile)] and large intestine (LI) tissues [cecum (Cec) and Colon (Col)] as listed along the X-axis. Live CMpGP3S organisms were recovered from each tissue sample and expressed as log₁₀ IFUs per tissue or swab. The data came from two independent experiments. Note that Rag2^−/− mice were rescued to block the spreading of CMpGP3S into the large intestine by CRAMP^−/− but not IL-22^−/− donor CD4⁺ T cells. * denotes an observed P-value <0.05 based on a Wilcoxon rank-sum test, comparing the live chlamydial organisms in the Cec, Col, and Rwb as well as overall large intestinal tissues between Rag2^−/− mice receiving CRAMP^−/− and IL-22^−/− donor CD4⁺ T cells.