FIG 7.

The immune responses responsible for producing IL-17 but not IFN-γ differ between wild-type and Aim2^−/− or Nlrp3^−/− mice immunized with the emrA1 mutant. Wild-type (WT) and Aim2^−/− mice (A and B) and wild-type and Nlrp3^−/− mice (C and D) (n = 6 mice/group) were immunized intranasally with 1 × 10⁶ CFU of the emrA1 mutant. On day 28 postimmunization, mice were sacrificed, and the splenocytes were isolated. The splenocytes obtained from naive mice served as controls. BMDMs isolated from wild-type, Aim2^−/−, or Nlrp3^−/− mice were infected with F. tularensis LVS (FtLVS) (MOI of 100) and then overlaid with splenocytes from immunized or naive mice. After 96 and 120 h, culture supernatants were collected and analyzed for the quantification of IFN-γ (A and C) and IL-17 (B and D) by a cytometric bead array. Results are expressed as picograms per milliliter (means ± SEM) from triplicate samples. The P values were determined using one-way ANOVA. **, P < 0.01.