FIG 6.

Nissle protects the epithelial barrier function from infection with pathogenic UPEC and EHEC. HIOs were microinjected with 10³ CFU of Nissle along with FITC-dextran and challenged with 10³ CFU of EHEC at 12 h or UPEC at 24 h. (A) The retention of fluorescence was monitored microscopically over time. Each column represents a single organoid imaged at the indicated time. Bars (displayed only on the final image), 100 μm. Representative images of experiments performed in triplicate are shown. (B) The epithelial barrier function was assessed by quantifying the retention of fluorescence using ImageJ software, and the results are plotted as the mean ± SD, with at least 3 repeats being performed. Differences were not statistically significant at 72 h by analysis of variance with Bonferroni’s multiple-comparison posttest.