Fig 3.

Three Fpt mutant strains exhibit early altered replication kinetics in HepG2 cells. The LVS ΔfptB (A), LVS ΔfptE (B), and LVS ΔfptG (C) strains exhibited significant defects in replication in HepG2 cells at 24 h postinfection. HepG2 cells were infected with either LVS or the specified mutant strain at an MOI of 100 for 4 h. Cells were then washed twice with PBS and incubated with 50 μg/ml gentamicin for 1 h. Following the incubation with gentamicin, cells were again washed twice and then maintained in antibiotic-free medium for the duration of the experiment. Intracellular bacteria were counted at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h postinfection. Data are plotted is the arithmetic mean CFU counts ± standard deviations and are from a single representative experiment of two experiments with similar designs and outcomes. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 (by regression analysis).