Fig 3.

Histopathology of mouse jejunum after infection with the V. vulnificus strains. Groups (n = 5) of mice were infected intragastrically with equal numbers of biofilm-derived cells of the wild type and the smcR mutant. Jejuna of the mice infected with PBS (A) or with the wild-type (B) or the smcR mutant (C) biofilm were histopathologically examined as described in Materials and Methods. Photographs representing tissues with the median histopathological changes observed in mice of each group are presented. For all panels, the top images are cross-sections (magnification, ×40) and bottom images are villi (magnification, ×100) of the jejuna.