Fig. 5.

Expression of different inflammation markers after pneumococcal meningitis in different brain regions. 36 h after subarachnoid infection with S. pneumoniae, mRNA expression levels of caspase-1 (a-d), caspase-4 (e-h) and Defb4 (i-l) were determined in the cerebellum, hippocampal formation, brain stem and cortex of CRAMP-KO and -WT mice by real-time RT-PCR. Please note the stronger increase in expression in infected CRAMP-KO compared to infected-WT mice. Data were assessed in 6 independent experiments in duplicate. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, infected CRAMP-WT vs. infected CRAMP-KO mice (ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni test). Casp1/4 = Caspase-1/4.