Figure 4.

KBMA P. aeruginosa dissemination in vivo. (a) The effect of photochemical treatment on the number of colony-forming units 24 hours after subcutaneous (s.c.) injection of 5 × 10⁷ bacteria. (−) Absence of CFU/ml, (+) ~10¹ CFU/ml, (++) ~10² CFU/ml, (+++) >5.10² CFU/ml. (n = 3 per group) (b) Representative SPECT/CT images of 5 × 10^{7 99m}Tc-radiolabeled bacteria 3 hours and 24 hours following s.c. injection in the flank (arrowhead). Free ^99mTc is shown as control. (c) Comparison of ^99mTc-labeled OSTAB and KBMA bacteria retrieved from different organs 24 hours following s.c. injection (n = 6 mice per group). ID, injected dose; KBMA, “killed but metabolically active.”