Figure 2.

Neospora caninum infection alters Dectin-1 expression and IL-12p40 production in dendritic cells and macrophages. Wild-type (WT) and Dectin-1^−/− mice were infected with non-lethal dose of N. caninum tachyzoites (1 × 10⁶ tachyzoites/mice) for the analysis of surface Dectin-1 expression in different cellular phenotypes and IL-12p40 determination after 3 days of infection. (A) Dectin-1 expression in dendritic cells (CD11b⁺CD11c⁺) and macrophages (CD11b⁺CD11c⁻) collected from the peritoneal cavity of infected WT mice. The results are expressed as the percentage of positive cells (%) and mean intensity of fluorescence (MIF) for Dectin-1, analyzed by flow cytometry. Additionally, IL-12p40 concentration was measured by ELISA in the peritoneal fluid (B) and spleen homogenates (C) of naïve and infected WT and Dectin-1^−/− mice, as well as in the supernatants of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells [BMDCs; (D)] and bone marrow-derived macrophages [(BMDMs); (E)], after 24 h of incubation with live N. caninum tachyzoites (MOI 1). Results expressed as mean ± SEM of three independent experiments. *Statistically significance differences (p < 0.05) assessed by analysis of variance followed by Bonferroni multiple comparison posttest.