FIG 5.

Granzyme B KO mice have more severe disease following infection with NMI. WT and granzyme B knockout mice were infected i.p. with 1 × 10⁷ NMI organisms, and disease severity was assessed at 14 and 28 dpi. (A) Relative body weight was determined throughout infection to monitor disease severity. (B) Splenomegaly was determined as a ratio of spleen weight to body weight. (C) Bacterial burden in the spleen was determined by real-time PCR and reported as log₁₀ C. burnetii com1 gene copy numbers. The data presented for each group are the average with standard deviation for four mice. Results were analyzed by t test (B and C) or two-way ANOVA with Sidak's multiple-comparison test (A) for statistical significance. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01.