Figure 4. Macrophages play an essential role in the elimination of Mp from the lungs of mice.

(A) Greater than 70% of the pool of CD11c⁺CD11b⁺ cells (mainly macrophages) in the lungs of Mp-challenged mice was depleted by injection (i.p. + i.n.) with clodronate-containing liposomes (3 d after injection with liposomes, 1 d after inoculation with Mp). (B) and (C) Macrophage-depleted mice (filled bars) (B) and CSF1^op/op mice (filled bars) (C) showed impaired clearance of Mp from the lungs at the indicated times post-Mp inoculation, compared to control mice (open bars). For clodronate depletion of macrophages, at least 5 experiments were performed with similar results. For CSF1^op/op mice, the experiment was repeated once with similar results. Data shown are means ± SEM (n = 3 or 5). * p<0.05.