FIG. 5.
Coinfection increases BCG replication in the lung, and prior exposure to dead BCG increases the Cryptococcus lung burden. An inoculum of 2 × 105 CFU of HK-BCG or of live BCG Pasteur was given intranasally 6 weeks prior to infection with 2 × 104 CFU of Cryptococcus (Crypto). Lungs were homogenized 13 days later and plated out on Sabouraud dextrose medium and Middlebrook agar to assess pathogen burden. (a) Prior HK-BCG exposure increased Cryptococcus recovery from lungs. (b) A significant increase in BCG titers was found in Cryptococcus coinfected mice. Each column represents the mean CFU count ± the standard deviation from five mice in one of at least two representative experiments.