Fig. 1.

Breathing NO reduced Kp CFUs in lung tissue in a dose dependent manner. Mice were infected with 2,000 CFU Kp per animal and treated with NO (160, 200 ppm [black triangle]) or air [white circle], 6 h after inoculation. Mice were sacrificed after 48 h. Inhalation of 160 ppm NO (A) or 200 ppm NO (B) decreased numbers of bacteria in lungs compared to mice treated with air alone (NO 160 ppm: n = 10, air: n = 10 and NO 200 ppm: n = 10, air: n = 10). NO had no effect on the number of CFUs in the spleen or blood of infected mice at any of the NO concentrations that were tested.