Figure 5.

Protective efficacy of plant-produced G-Ag85A and bacteria-produced NG-Ag85A immunization against Mtb HN878 infection. Four weeks after the final immunization, the mice were challenged with 70 CFUs of the Mtb HN878 strain via aerosol. (a) The superior lobes of the right lung of each immunized mouse were analyzed using H&E staining, and representative lung lobes were depicted as gross images at 4 and 12 weeks after Mtb HN878 infection (10X: Scale bar  =  2.0 mm, 100X: Scale bar  =  0.2 mm). (b) The CFUs in the lungs and spleens of each group were analyzed by culturing lung and spleen homogenates and enumerating the bacteria. The data are presented as the medians ± IQR log₁₀CFU/organ (5–6 mice per group at each designated time point), and the levels of the significance of the differences obtained in the comparisons among the samples were determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test. A value of p < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, and *** p < 0.001; n.s., not significant.