Fig. 2.

Prior AHL treatment rescued mice from thrombocytopenia induced by A. hydrophila. Platelets were counted in blood collected from mice (n = 5, each treatment group) that were pretreated (i.p.) with C₄-HSL, C₆-HSL, a combination of C₄-HSL and C₆-HSL, or 3-oxo-C₁₂-HSL and/or vehicle for 12 h and 6 h with and/or without A. hydrophila infection. AHL pretreatment without A. hydrophila infection did not influence platelet numbers. During infection without AHL treatment, the platelets were significantly decreased (thrombocytopenia), while AHL pretreatment before infection (**, P = 0.001 for C₆-HSL; ***, P = 0.0004 for 3-oxo-C₁₂-HSL; *, P = 0.016 for C4- and C6-HSLs) normalized the platelet numbers to the normal range. Asterisks denote statistically significant platelet count differences between controls (without the AHL treatment) and with AHL pretreatment followed by the infection. K, thousands of cells.