Figure 5. Recombinant neutrophil elastase delivery to mice infected with ΔaroAΔinvA Salmonella results in increased colonization and significant changes in histopathology.
Six- to eight-week-old female mice were treated with 450 mg/L of streptomycin for 2 days in their drinking water. After antibiotic withdrawal, mice were infected with 2.7×108 CFUs of the indicated strain. Recombinant neutrophil elastase was injected orally and intraperitoneally once a day on days 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 post infection. A) Salmonella colonization was determined at five days post infection by plating serial dilutions of cecum homogenates on LB plates supplemented with 100 µg/ml of streptomycin. B) Pathology scores of cecal tissue 5 days post infection. * indicates p<0.05, ** indicates p<0.01.