Figure 7.

Neutralization of NK cells in the cornea blocked IFNγ, IRF1, and CXCL10 expression and compromised flagellin-induced corneal protection in B6 mice. WT mice were injected with NK cell neutralizing anti-NK1.1 antibody (3 μg in 5 μL) or isotype rabbit IgG 24 hours prior to topical PBS or flagellin pretreatment, and then infected with ATCC 19660 at 10⁴ CFU. At 20 hours postinfection the corneas were photographed (A) and then harvested for bacterial count (B); MPO activity assay (C); CXCL2 (D) and CXCL10 (F) ELISA; and real-time PCR analysis of IFNγ, IRF1, and CXCL10 expression (E). P values were generated using unpaired Student's t-test (**P < 0.01). The figure is a representative of six corneas (n = 3 mice) per condition.