Figure 1. P. aeruginosa infection and markers of immune response in the murine model of chronic airways infection and CF patients.

Two groups of minimum five C57Bl/6 mice were infected with 1 to 2 × 10⁶ CFU/lung of the P. aeruginosa strain AA43 embedded in agar beads and analyzed after 2 and 28 days of infection. Control (Ctrl) mice were treated with sterile agar-beads. (A) CFU were evaluated in total lung. Dots represent CFU in individual mice, horizontal lines represent mean values and the error bars represent the standard error of the mean (SEM). The data are pooled from at least two independent experiments (n = 4–12). Cytokines and chemokines, including IL-1β (B), IFN-γ (C), and IL-17A (D), were measured by Bioplex in murine lung homogenates. The data are pooled from at least two independent experiments (n = 3–9). Values represent the mean ± SEM. Levels of IL-17A (E), IFN-γ (F) and IL-4 (G) in sputa from CF patients never colonized by P. aeruginosa (free), with intermittent or chronic colonization up to two years (early) and with chronic colonization for at least four years (late) are compared. Dots represent values in individual patients and horizontal lines represent median values. Statistical significance is indicated: ^∗p < 0.05, ^∗∗p < 0.01.