FIG 3.

Influx of neutrophils and zinc at the site of skin colonization. (A, B) Tissue histology of healthy human-plasminogenized-mouse skin, shown at ×10 (A) and ×40 (B) magnification. (C to E) Tissue histology of human-plasminogenized-mouse infected-skin lesion 3 days after subcutaneous infection with 5448 WT, shown at ×10 (C), ×40 (D), and ×63 (E) magnification. (F, G) Tissue histology of human-plasminogenized-mouse control skin adjacent to the lesion 3 days after subcutaneous infection with 5448 WT, shown at ×10 (F) and ×40 (G) magnification. Mice were infected with a dose of 2 × 10⁷ CFU. Images are representative of the results from 3 independent mice. (H) Immunofluorescence histology identifying the presence of neutrophils (anti-CD63 antibody), GAS (anti-group A carbohydrate antibody), and calprotectin (anti-S100A9 antibody) in human-plasminogenized-mouse infected-skin lesion 3 days after subcutaneous infection with 5448 WT, shown at ×63 magnification (dose = 2 × 10⁷ CFU). (I) Total zinc contents from skin of uninfected mice, infected-skin lesions of human-plasminogenized mice 3 days after subcutaneous infection with 5448 WT, and control skin adjacent to the lesions of infected mice (dose = 2 × 10⁷ CFU). Total zinc content was normalized to the weight of the sample. One-way ANOVA of the results was performed for total zinc from skin of uninfected versus infected mice. **, P < 0.005.