FIG. 5.

Intranasally inoculated mice have increased number of Th17 cells and increased IL-17 in lung tissue. C57BL/6J mice were inoculated with F. tularensis LVS either intradermally (10⁵ CFU) or intranasally (5 × 10² CFU). BALF and cells were isolated from the lungs of each mouse at indicated time points after inoculation. Day zero represents mock inoculation mice, used to determine basal numbers of cells in lung tissue and the concentration of IL-17 in BLF. (A) T cells were analyzed for total number of CD4⁺ IL-17⁺ cells. (B) BALF was analyzed for IL-17 by ELISA. All comparisons are between routes of inoculation at each time point. (C) Representative staining of CD4⁺ T cells from the lungs of mice days 7 and 10 post-intranasal (IN) and intradermal (ID) inoculation. Asterisks denote statistical difference (**, P ≤ 0.01). Error bars represent standard errors of the means (n = 8). Error bars on some samples are smaller than the symbols. Data represented are combined from two experiments with four mice per group for a total of eight mice per group per time point.