FIG 2.

Propofol increases neutrophilic infiltrate and S. aureus dissemination into the kidney during acute infection. (A) Animals were infected i.v. with 3 × 10⁶ CFU of S. aureus in the presence or absence of propofol. Animals were sacrificed at 7 days postinfection, and kidneys were harvested, fixed, sectioned, and stained with fluorescent antibodies against neutrophils (anti-Ly-6G; red), S. aureus (anti-S. aureus; green), or a nuclear dye (DAPI; blue). There were no apparent differences in the distribution of neutrophils or presence of S. aureus between control animals (top) and propofol-treated animals (bottom) at this time point. Images were taken at ×10 magnification; scale bar, 100 μm. (B) Animals were infected as described for panel A and sacrificed at 14 days postinfection. Kidneys were harvested and stained with fluorescent antibodies against neutrophils and stained with DAPI as described above. Mice treated with propofol (bottom) exhibited significantly enlarged neutrophilic abscesses compared with infected controls (top). Images were taken at ×10 magnification; scale bar, 100 μm. (C) Animals infected as described for panel A were sacrificed 14 days postinfection, and kidney sections were stained for the presence of S. aureus. Kidney sections from anesthetized mice contained significantly more bacteria (bottom) than control animals (top), and infected controls were able to contain infection more efficiently than propofol-treated mice. Images were taken at ×10 magnification; scale bar, 100 μm. Images are representative from 2 independent experiments with 5 animals per treatment group per time point.