Figure 5.

Bacteria load and lung histopathology after aerosol infection with virulent H37Rv strain. Six C57BL/6 female mice were immunized with purified Ag85A (Ag85A/ADJ) or LppZ (LppZ/ADJ) recombinant protein emulsified with adjuvant. Adjuvant only (ADJ) and BCG (BCG) immunization were used as controls. Four weeks after the last immunization, mice were challenged with the virulent M.tb strain H37Rv. Bacteria load in the lungs (A) and spleens (B) were enumerated and represented as the mean log₁₀ CFU/organ ± SEM. Lung pathological scores (C) and representative pathological changes based on H&E staining (scale bar = 50 μm) (D) are indicated. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01.