Fig. 4.

SLEV infection causes leukopenia characterized by lymphopenia in mice and causes the recruitment of granulocytes to the brain. Adult female C57BL/6 mice were inoculated i.c. with 1 LD₁₀₀ of SLEV and euthanized at days 3, 5, and 7 p.i. for collection of blood and brain. Blood samples were used for total (a) and differential (b) leukocyte counts. Brain samples were processed and used in assays for detection of enzymatic activity of MPO (c), NAG (d) and EPO (e). Results are expressed as mean plus standard error of the mean (SEM) and are representative of two independent experiments (N = 6–15). *P < 0.05, ***P < 0.001 compared to the respective Mock-infected group. Mock = injected with saline