FIG. 2.

Quantification of intracellular rickettsiae in R. conorii-infected BMDCs. BMDCs derived from C3H mice and B6 mice were infected with bacteria (MOI of 5). (A) At 4 h postinfection, extracellular bacteria were removed, and the quantities of intracellular bacteria were determined at 4 h, 24 h, and 48 h postinfection by quantitative real-time PCR. Data are presented as means ± standard deviations of three replicates in each group. (B) The percentages of killed or processed bacteria from 4 h to 24 h postinfection were calculated using the average quantity of rickettsiae at these two time points. Compared to 24 h postinfection, the average quantity of intracellular bacteria at 48 h in BMDCs from the two mouse strains had increased to a different degree. Data shown are representative of results from three independent experiments.