Fig 6.
Effects of A2BAR inhibition on C. difficile infection in mice. C57BL/6 wild-type mice (8 mice/group) were infected with C. difficile VPI 10463 (105 CFU) and treated with the A2BAR antagonist ATL801 (10 mg/kg/day for 5 days) 24 h after infection. (A) Survival curve (P < 0.0001, by Mantel-Cox test). (B) Percentage of weight change from day of inoculation (day 0). No significant differences between untreated infected versus ATL801-treated mice were observed when weights of dead mice where carried through the end of observation for statistical analysis. (C) Diarrhea scores. For statistical analyses, the latest scores of dead mice were carried through the end of observation. (The only significant difference was the diarrhea score at day 5 for untreated infected versus ATL801-treated infected mice [P < 0.05 by two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni's correction[.) (D) Cecal histopathology scores (P < 0.0001 by ANOVA with Bonferroni's multiple comparison test). (E) C. difficile toxin positivity in cecal contents by ELISA (P < 0.0001 by ANOVA with Bonferroni's multiple comparison test). (F) Clostridial shedding, detected by PCR of the C. difficile TcdB gene (tcdB) in available fecal specimens from uninfected and infected mice. The lower the cycle threshold value, the higher the degree of clostridial shedding.