FIGURE 7.

Deletion of htsA induced high production of cytokines in mice. Groups of mice (n = 7) were subcutaneously injected with 2 ml of air to form an air pouch and inoculated with ∼2 × 10⁸ CFU of bacterial strains. At 24 h postinfection, air pouch exudate was collected, and the cytokine levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the exudate were determined by ELISA assay. The result showed that cytokine levels of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the mice infected with ΔhtsA were higher than those in mice infected with wild type or ΔhtsA-htsA. ^∗P < 0.05, ^∗∗P < 0.01.