Figure 1.

Influence of N. brasiliensis exposure on uncolonized FGT, increase in FGT eosinophils following Nb exposure

(A) Female mice were hormone-synchronized 7 days prior to Nb infection.

(B) At day 9 post-Nb infection (Nb 9dpi), levels of IL-33, IL-4, and IL-5 in FGT homogenates or lavages were assessed by ELISA or Luminex. <OOR: below detection range for ELISA. Dotted line represents lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) for Luminex analysis. Vaginal tissue was analyzed by (C and D) (C) hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and (D) Sirius red staining. Representative images (n = 5) were taken at ×200, ×400, and ×1,000 magnification. Black arrows identify eosinophils.

(E) Frequencies (mean ± SEM) and numbers (×10³) of neutrophils (CD11b⁺Ly-6G⁺), Ly-6C^hi monocytes (CD11b⁺Ly-6C^hi), macrophages (CD11b⁺F480⁺), and eosinophils (CD11b⁺Siglec-F⁺SSC^hi) in the FGT of naive and Nb-infected mice.

(F) Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) of Siglec-F, CD11b, Gr-1, CD62L, and CD49d on lung (green, blue) and FGT (pink) eosinophils at Nb 9 dpi. Dotted line represents the MFI of CD45⁺ FGT cells. Data are representative of two independent experiments with 4–5 mice per group (mean ± SEM). Statistical significance was calculated by Mann-Whitney t test. ^∗p ≤ 0.05, ^∗∗p ≤ 0.01, ^∗∗∗p ≤ 0.001, ^∗∗∗∗p ≤ 0.0001.