FIGURE 3.
Phagocytosis and killing of bacteria by TNF−/− macrophages is impaired and is associated with decreased expression of the genes for CCL3, IL-1β, and TLR2. A, Phagocytosis and killing of NTHi bacteria was assessed in peritoneal macrophages from WT (closed bars) and TNF−/− (open bars) mice. Bacteria remaining after 1 h (phagocytosis) and 3 h (killing) were quantified by colony counting. B, Expression of genes for CCL3, CXCL2, IL-1β, TLR2, and TLR4 after 6 h exposure of macrophages from WT and TNF−/− mice to NTHi was determined by qRT-PCR. Experiments were performed in triplicate and expressed as means ± SEM. Data are representative of three independent experiments.
