FIG 5.

CD11b⁺ Ly6C^hi Ly6G⁻ cells purified from spleens of mice infected with S. Typhimurium can differentiate into macrophage-like cells following ex vivo culture. (A) Light microscopy images of purified CD11b⁺ Ly6C^hi Ly6G⁻ cells cultured ex vivo for 7 days in the absence (top) or presence (middle) of M-CSF. Cultures of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM; bottom) were used as a control. (B) Flow cytometric analysis of purified CD11b⁺ Ly6C^hi Ly6G⁻ cells (white bars; day 0) or purified CD11b⁺ Ly6C^hi Ly6G⁻ cells cultured ex vivo for 7 days in the presence of M-CSF (black bars; day 7). Analysis was performed to detect expression of surface CD11b, Ly6C, F4/80, and class II MHC (I-A^b). Data are representative of (A), or show the mean with the standard error of the mean from (B), three independent experiments. Data were analyzed using a two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni's posttest; P values of <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Asterisks indicate statistically significant differences (***, P < 0.001).