Figure 6. NOS2-deficient mice are more susceptible to DENV infection.

WT and NOS2^−/− mice were inoculated with 10LD₅₀ of DENV-2 and at the indicated timepoints, the following parameters were assessed: lethality rates after infection (A); platelet counts (B) and hematocrit (C) in blood; TNF-α (D) and IL-6 (E) concentration in spleen, measured by ELISA; AST activity in serum (F), measured by colorimetric assay; Liver injury, assessed by Hematoxylin & Eosin staining (seven days after infection) (G); Viral loads recovered from the spleen, by plaque assay (H). IFN-γ concentration in spleen (I) and serum (J) measured by ELISA; Results are expressed as mean ± SEM (except for H, expressed as median) and are representative of at least two independent experiments. N = 6 mice per group. * P<0.05 vs. NI. # P<0.05 vs. WT. NI: Not infected. ND: Not detected. dpi:day post-infection.