Fig. 4. Supernatants from KFDV-infected moDCs activate ECs.

Supernatants from the moDCs infected with KFDV or mock-infected with UV-inactivated virus for 48 h were collected and incubated with monolayers of HDMECs for 6 h. After incubation, the leukocyte adhesion assay was performed as described in the Materials and Methods. HDMECs treated with TNF-α were used as a positive control. The level of leukocyte adhesion was normalized against leukocyte adhesion in untreated and uninfected HDMECs and is expressed as the leukocyte adhesion index representing the fold change relative to controls. The data are represented by a boxplot with minimal and maximal values. **p < 0.01; ****p < 0.0001