Figure 6.

Adenosine production by other bacterial species is involved in bacterial translocation across the BBB. (a) The effects of the 5ʹ-nucleotidase inhibitor APCP (500 µM) on the translocation of GBS, S. aureus, or S. epidermidis across HCMEC/D3 monolayers at 1 h were determined. Data are expressed as means and SEM. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, two-tailed Student’s t test. (b–d) Six-week-old male CD1 mice were injected via the tail vein with 10⁸ CFU of GBS. The effects of administration of APCP i.p. 2 h prior to challenge on the progression of GBS meningitis were determined. Bacterial burdens in the blood (b) or brain (c), as well as the ratio of brain:blood CFU (d) were determined 72 h post-infection (n = 8 mice per group). Brain CFUs were corrected for blood contamination using the blood CFU and a conservative estimate of the mouse cerebral blood volume (2.5 mL per 100 g tissue). Horizontal lines and error bars denote the median and IQR, respectively. *P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test.