FIGURE 8.

Activation of inflammasome in the FTL_0325 mutant-infected macrophages is independent of AIM2 during the later stages of infection. WT or AIM2^−/− macrophages were infected with either the FTL_0325 mutant or F. tularensis (Ft) LVS at an m.o.i. of 100. The cells were lysed 24 h post-infection and analyzed by Western blot analysis for visualization of active caspase-1, IL-1β, and IL-18. The blots were stripped and re-probed for β-actin, which was used as a loading control. The Western blot images are representative of at least two-three independent experiments. The relative quantification of the bands from two-three blots is shown and expressed as relative intensity units (RIU). The data were analyzed by ANOVA with Tukey-Kramer post-test and a cut-off p value of 0.05 or less was considered significant. *, p < 0.05; **, p < 0.01; ***, p < 0.001.