Figure 3.

α-GalCer treatment prevents intestinal and joint inflammation induced by Salmonella enterocolitis. Wild type BALB/c mice pretreated with 20 mg of streptomycin received 3–4 × 10³ CFU of Salmonella. Samples were taken 5 days post-infection. VαJα (A) and IFN-γ (B) expression in mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN; black solid) and spleen (striped) analyzed by qPCR. ^* ¥Significant differences between α-GalCer-treated mice (GC group) and untreated mice (Control group); p < 0.01. Results are expressed as mean ± SD (n = 4). Representative data from three independent experiments. Representative HE sections of intestine (C–E) and knee joint (F–H). Uninfected mice, Control group (D,G); infected mice treated with α-GalCer, GC EC group (C,F); infected mice, EC group (E,H). Arrows indicate synovial membrane. Scale bar 100 um. Differences in intestinal damage scores (I). Differences in joint damage scores (J). NS, no significant differences. Data were collected from three independent experiments. ^*Significant differences (p < 0.05).