Figure 5. MIP-2– and KC-producing skin cells in the first hours of Leishmania major infection.

Staining for (a) KC and DAPI in naïve and L. major-infected WT and Tlr2^−/− mice 4 hours after infection. (b) Staining for MIP-2 and DAPI in WT naïve and infected mice. Magnifications of the indicated area are shown below. The arrows point to MIP-2⁺ dots presumably showing released chemokine. (c) Noninflamed and inflamed areas of infected WT skin samples stained for MIP-2 and for NIMP-R14^highCD11b⁺ neutrophils. Below is an enlargement of the defined areas. (d) Similar staining as in c performed for naïve and L. major-infected Tlr2^−/− mice. (e) Quantification of MIP-2⁺ cells (arrow head) and dots (small arrow). The number of MIP-2⁺ events/50,000 μm² for WT and Tlr2^−/− ears is shown ± standard deviation. n = 4 ears/group, representative of two independent experiments. (f) Co-localization of MIP-2 was assessed for CD206⁺F4/80⁺ dermal macrophages, CD207/langerin⁺ Langerhans cells, CD45⁺ hematopoietic cells, vascular endothelial cadherin⁺ endothelium, and collagen IV⁺ endothelium-associated basement membranes. Representative images are shown. Scale bar = 100 μm. ***P < 0.001. c, cartilage; ns, not significant; WT, wild type.