Fig 3. Inflammatory responses in the corneas of GF SW mice are increased when compared to SPF mice infected with P. aeruginosa strain 6294.

Groups of 14 GF mice and 14 SPF mice were infected with 1×10⁷ CFU P. aeruginosa placed onto scratch-injured eyes. Corneas were harvested at 24 h after infection, washed in F12 media, homogenized in PBS containing a mix of protease inhibitors and supplemented with 0.5% Triton to disrupt plasma membranes. The levels of cytokines in corneal lysates were measured using a Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) multiplex assay and compared with Bonferroni’s correction for multiple comparisons (p<0.008). IL-12p40, IL-6 and KC were significantly increased in GF mice when compared to SPF mice p = 0.0001, p = 0.0001, and p = 0.0001, respectively. Data pooled from two experiments performed under comparable conditions.