Fig 4. Streptococcus agalactiae UTI induces distinctive patterns of cytokine secretion in young, aged, and dam mice at 48 h post-infection.

Pro-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors (blue), chemokines (red) and regulatory cytokines (green) are highlighted using coloured axes. Median bars and interquartile ranges are shown for 3 independent experiments combined (n = 6–13). The data were initially compared using Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA, and Dunn’s multiple comparison post-tests. Additional pair-wise comparisons were performed using Mann-Whitney U tests to compare PBS and infected conditions for cytokines across the same host background. Significance levels for the latter are indicated (* P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001; **** P < 0.0001). The figure denotes S. agalactiae as group B streptococcus (GBS).