FIG 2.

Inhibition of K. pneumoniae-induced liver damage by LiCl. Groups of six B6 mice were inoculated intragastrically with 1 × 10⁹ K. pneumoniae NK-9 cells per mouse. Various concentrations of LiCl were administered as described for Fig. 1A. The mice were sacrificed at 18 or 72 h postinfection, and liver sections were prepared as described in Materials and Methods. (A to H) Representative tissue sections. (A) Drinking water only, without K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 72 h. (B) Drinking water plus K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 18 h. (C) LiCl (10 μg/ml) plus K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 18 h. (D) LiCl (400 μg/ml) plus K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 18 h. (E) LiCl (400 μg/ml) without K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 72 h. (F) Drinking water plus K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 72 h. (G) LiCl (10 μg/ml) plus K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 72 h. (H) LiCl (400 μg/ml) plus K. pneumoniae, with sacrifice at 72 h. Thick arrows, necrotic regions; thin arrows, liver abscesses. Magnification, ×100. (I) Degree of liver inflammation determined by histological examination, as described in Materials and Methods. *, P < 0.05, compared with K. pneumoniae-treated mice.