Fig. 5.

Efficacy of protection of offspring by maternal immunization with VLPs. a RSV neutralizing antibodies measured in 4-week-old litters derived from the indicated groups of unprimed (black symbols) or RSV-primed (red symbols) dams. Each symbol represents the mean of each litter. Boxes represent the boundaries of the quartiles Log₂ NA titers obtained for all litters in a group. Error bars represent s.e.m. Comparison of the responses between the respective mock-vaccinated groups and VLPs or RSV i.m.-vaccinated groups was assessed by non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test. *p < 0.05. b Mean litter lung and c nose viral titers in RSV-challenged 4-week-old pups measured on day 4 post infection. Each symbol represents the mean viral titer in each litter. Horizontal lines represent the mean for each group. Boxes represent the boundaries of the quartiles values for each group. Error bars represent s.e.m. Comparison of the protection achieved between the respective mock-vaccinated group and VLPs or RSV-i.m.-vaccinated groups was assessed by one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey post hoc test. +p < 0.0001; #p < 0.0005