Figure 3. Administration of IL-15c i.n. increases the number of NK cells recovered from the lung airways.

On day 3 p.i. with 10³ pfu HKx31, mice were administered either PBS vehicle control (black bars), IL-15Rα alone (shaded bars) or IL-15c (open bars) intranasally. Twelve hours post treatment, CD3⁻ lymphocytes were analyzed for NK1.1 and NKp46 expression. These NK cells were quantified and analyzed for CD122 expression, BrdU incorporation, and Ki-67 staining. Representative flow plots are depicted in panel (A), and graphical representations of mean frequencies and numbers of NK cells ± SEM, as well as percentage of these cells positive for CD122 and BrdU are depicted in panel (B) (n = 3 mice/group; * = p<0.025). (C) Mean frequencies and numbers of NK cells in the spleen are plotted ± SEM (n = 3 mice/group). Data are representative of two independent experiments.