FIG. 3.

Infection-stimulated reticulocytopenia is IL-15 dependent. Wild-type (WT) C576BL/6 mice or C576BL/6 mice deficient (KO) in IL-15, IFN-γ, or STAT1 were infected with 10 ME49 cysts, and samples were collected 8 days later. The percentages of circulating reticulocytes (A), the plasma IFN-γ levels (B), the hepatic parasite burdens (C), and the hepatic IL-15 mRNA levels (D) were determined for sham-infected and T. gondii-infected mice. The dashed line in panel C indicates the limit of detection. The asterisks indicate significant differences for the comparisons indicated, as determined by Student's t test (P < 0.0001; n.s., not significant). The data are means and standard deviations of at least seven mice per group.