Fig 2.

Pan-Irgm^−/− mice display increased inflammation in genital C. trachomatis infection. (A–G) Mice were infected transcervically with 5 × 10⁶ C. trachomatis EBs, and the female genital tract was harvested at 6 dpi. (A) Gross pathology—arrowhead indicates area of gross inflammation. (B) Genital tracts were fixed, sectioned, and H&E stained. Mildly inflamed wild-type uterine tissue and severely inflamed and edematous pan-Irgm^−/− uterus; wild-type ovary and oviduct with no evidence of inflammation and pan-Irgm^−/− ovary, oviduct, and mesosalpinx each displaying severe inflammation—arrowheads indicate regions of inflammatory infiltrate or edema. The magnitude of acute and chronic inflammation (C), edema (D), and dilation (E) was graded by a veterinary pathologist (n = 7 mice; each data point represents one uterine horn of an infected mouse). (F) Immunohistochemistry was performed on fixed genital tracts infected with C. trachomatis to label the neutrophil marker myeloperoxidase (MPO—brown). Arrowheads indicate regions or punctae of neutrophilic infiltrate. (G) Flow cytometry on genital tracts infected with C. trachomatis to quantify neutrophils (CD45+Gr1+ live cells; n = 5 mice; each data point represents one entire reproductive tract of an infected mouse). Data represent one experiment that is representative of multiple replicates. Statistical significance was determined using Mann-Whitney test (C–E) or t-test (G); *P < 0.05 and ****P < 0.00005.