Fig. 1.
NK cells limit viral replication and spread following footpad infection. C57BL/6 mice were infected with 1.5 × 106 pfu of CPXV in the footpad; at the indicated time points, organs were removed and viral titers were assessed in the draining LN (A) and spleen (B) by plaque assay. Dotted lines indicate the limit of detection by the assay. Symbols indicate individual mice, and lines indicate the mean. n = 4–5 mice per group were analyzed for each time point. (C–E) C57BL/6 mice were injected i.p. with 200 μg of control antibody (mAR) or PK136 antibody 2 d before infection and 4 dpi. At 3 and 6 dpi, organs were removed and DNA was isolated. Quantitative PCR was used to assess viral burden in the LN (C), spleen (D), and lung (E). CPXV copy number was normalized to β-actin copy number and then multiplied by 1,000. Symbols indicate individual mice, and lines indicate the mean. n = 4–5 mice per group were analyzed for each time point. Data are representative of three independent experiments.