Fig. 1.

Role of perforin and TNF-α in genital chlamydial infection and pathology. (A and B) Groups (n = 33) of C57BL/6 mice were challenged i.vag. with C. muridarum, and upper genital tracts (n = 3) were collected on day 0 before challenge and at weekly intervals after challenge for 10 consecutive weeks. Tissue homogenates were examined for levels of granzyme B (A) and TNF-α (B). Results are expressed as mean ± SEM of cytokine level at each time point per group and are representative of two independent experiments. (C and D) Groups (n = 6) of perforin^−/−, TNF-α^−/−, and C57BL/6 mice were challenged i.vag. with C. muridarum. (C) The vaginal chlamydial shedding was measured over a period of 1 month following challenge. (D) On day 80 after challenge, the gross oviduct diameter was measured. Each individual marker represents one oviduct, and the mean ± SEM of oviduct diameter per group is also shown. The number of normal oviducts (numerator) and the total number of oviducts evaluated (denominator) per respective group of mice have been indicated in parentheses. *, significant (P ≤ 0.05) difference between indicated group and C57BL/6 mice in incidence of hydrosalpinx (chi-square test) and the oviduct diameter (ANOVA). Results are a composite from two independent experiments.