Figure 2.

Foxp3^creIL-4Rα^−/lox mice showed increased survival and decreased tissue burdens and pathology. (A) Survival of Foxp3^creIL-4Rα^−/lox and littermate control animals over 15 days following infection with 2 × 10⁵ CFU of L. monocytogenes. (B) Spleen and (C) liver bacterial burden was determined at 3 and 7 days postinfection. At 3 and 7dpi, spleen and liver tissues were formalin-fixed and stained with H&E for histopathological analysis. Representative sections of the (D) spleen and (E) liver with arrows showing white pulp atrophy and circles indicating cellular infiltration. Three 30-µm apart cuts per tissue were analysed (scalebar = 100 µm; magnification, × 200). (F, G) Quantification of splenic atrophic areas and liver lesion size. Data are represented as mean ± SEM of (A) 8–10 mice/group, analysed using Mantel–Cox test (p = 0.0123), and (B–G) 10–15 mice/group from pooled data across three independent experiments, analysed using a two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test (^* p < 0.05; ^*** p < 0.0001).