Figure 5.

Deficiency of IFNγ does not alter spirochetal burden in hearts of infected mice. Wild-type and IFNγ-deficient mice were infected with B. burgdorferi N40 or inoculated with BSK medium as uninfected controls. Hearts were collected at 25 days after infection. DNA was extracted from the tissue and assessed using real-time PCR. The gene recA was used to measure the presence of B. burgdorferi. Samples were normalized to mouse Nid1, and data were plotted as mean ± SD relative to uninfected controls of the same genotype. Wild-type group, n = 4; IFNγ-deficient group, n = 5.