Figure 6.

pβCD induce alveolar macrophage depletion and pulmonary apoptosis. (A) BALB/c mice received one i.n. administration of pβCD (150 mg/mL, 50 μL) and were euthanized at indicated time points postadministration to evaluate the number of different cell populations in lungs by flow cytometry. The following cell types were analyzed: alveolar macrophages (CD11c⁺ F4/80⁺ SiglecF⁺), interstitial macrophages (F4/80⁺ CD11c^int SiglecF^–), neutrophils (CD11b⁺ LY6G⁺), eosinophils (SiglecF⁺ CD11c^–), T cells (CD3⁺), and B cells (B220⁺ MHCII⁺). (B) BALB/c mice were inoculated via the i.n. route with Mtb H37Rv (10⁵ CFU). At days 7, 9, 11, 14, 16, and 18 postchallenge, mice received administrations of 50 μL of pβCD (150 mg/mL) via the e.t. route. At day 21 postchallenge, 50 μL of NucView 488 caspase-3 substrate (diluted in PBS) was administered i.n. to each mouse for 1 h before lung harvesting and subsequent fluorescence histology analysis. Data are presented as mean ± SEM and are representative of two independent experiments. Symbols *, **, and *** denote p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001, respectively.