Figure 3.

Analysis of bacteria-human cell interactions. (A) Quantification of the adherence of 17978 and Δ0114 bacteria either not transformed or transformed with pWH1266-Km-0114, which harbors the A1S_0114 parental allele (Δ0114.C), or the empty shuttle vector pWH1266.Km (Δ0114.E) to polarized A549 cells. Bacterial adherence is reported as the % of recovered bacteria compared to data collected with 17978, which was considered 100%. Data represent three independent replicates. Student's t-test was used to validate the experimental data, values are means and bars indicate standard deviation (^*P < 0.05). (B) SEM analysis of A549 polarized cells either not infected (Uninfected cells) or infected with 17978 (17978) or with Δ0114 bacteria (Δ0114). All micrographs were taken at 10,000x magnification. White bars indicate the scale marks (2 μm). White arrows indicate bacteria attached to A549 cells or cell debris.