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. 2009 Apr 17;191(12):3861–3868. doi: 10.1128/JB.01313-08

FIG. 3.

FIG. 3.

The neisserial capsule protects bacteria from LL-37. (A) The encapsulated N. meningitidis FAM20 strain and N. gonorrhoeae strain MS11 were incubated with LL-37 (0 to 3.2 μΜ) for 3 h. Viable counts were determined, with data presented as mean percentages of survival + standard errors (n = 3). (B) ELISA verification of the capsule-deficient strain FAM20ΔCapsule compared to wild-type FAM20. OD405, optical density at 405 nm. (C) FAM20 and FAM20ΔCapsule, after being resuspended to form 105 CFU/ml, were incubated with LL-37 (0 to 8 μM). Viable counts were determined after 3 h. Data are presented as mean survival ratios ± standard errors (n = 3). (D) FAM20 bacteria and the isogenic capsule-deficient mutant, after being resuspended to form 108 CFU/ml, were treated with LL-37 (0 to 500 nM) for 30 min at 22°C and subsequently fixed and stained using a biotinylated anti-LL-37 antibody before analysis by flow cytometry. The numbers of LL-37-binding bacteria are expressed as percentages of the total number of bacteria. Data are presented as mean percentages + standard errors (n = 3). * and ** represent statistically significant differences (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, respectively).