FIG 1.

GBS induces strain-specific activation of stress-responsive MAPKs. THP-1 macrophages were infected with GBS at a multiplicity of infection (MOI) of 10 for 1 h, washed, and treated with antibiotics for an additional hour prior to lysate collection. (A to L) Lysates were assessed for phosphorylated (active) or total protein levels of p38 (A to C), JNK (D to F), FOS (G to I), and JUN (J to L), and densitometry was used to compare differences between infection conditions. Densitometry values represent pooled results from at least three independent biological replicates, and error bars represent standard deviations of the mean. Significance was determined by ANOVA (P values: phospho-p38, 0.0001; total p38, 0.2608; phospho-JNK, 0.119, total JNK, 0.0316; phospho-FOS, 0.0136; total FOS, 0.818; phospho-JUN, 0.0347; total JUN, 0.0663) with post hoc Dunnett’s testing to compare each infection condition to the mock infection (*, P = 0.01 to 0.05; **, P = 0.001 to 0.01; ***, P = 0.0001 to 0.001; ****, P < 0.0001). Representative Western blots from one biological replicate with its corresponding loading control (GAPDH) are shown (C, F, I, and L). Equal amounts of the same protein lysate preparations were loaded onto the gels for each protein.