FIG. 3.

Corneal pathology at 2 days (48 h) postinoculation with P. aeruginosa strain PA103 or the retS, exoU, exoT, or exoU exoT mutant at ∼10⁶ CFU/5 μl in the 6-h healing murine model of infection. Peripheral ring infiltrates (solid arrows) were observed with wild-type bacteria and the exoT mutant (still expresses ExoU). In contrast, pathology observed with the retS and exoU exoT mutants predominantly involved infiltrates in the central cornea (dashed arrows). The exoU mutant (expresses ExoT) caused pathology involving both the central and peripheral regions of the cornea.