Figure 2. MutStat3 mice have a defect in their cutaneous response to S.

aureus. (A) Littermate WT mice or mice with a transgenic insertion of mutated Stat3 (mutStat3) were infected with 10⁷ CFU MRSA by s.c. injection, and the lesion area was measured daily. (B) Transcript levels from homogenized skin harvested on day 5 or 6 in mutStat3 mice relative to WT (set to 1, dotted line), normalized to GAPDH, are shown for IL-1β, IL-17A, and βD4. (C) A 3-mm biopsy was taken from infected skin, and (D) the kidneys were collected on day 5 or 6 and homogenized and plated after serial dilutions to enumerate the CFU burden. (E and F) Transcript values, as in C, were normalized to GAPDH and are relative to WT. Data shown are a combination of 3 or more independent experiments and displayed as the mean ± SD. n = 4–7 mice per group, per experiment. *P < 0.05 and ***P < 0.001, by ANOVA with Bonferroni’s correction.