Figure 5.

Nlrp3 deficiency results in enhanced bacterial clearance and less severe histopathological lesions in mice infected with F. tularensis LVS. C57BL/6 wild-type and Nlrp3^−/− mice-infected intranasally with 1×10⁴ CFUs of F. tularensis LVS. (A) The mice were euthanized on days 3 and 7 post-infection and bacterial burdens were quantified in their lung, liver, and spleen. The data shown are cumulative results from three independent experiments (n=3–4 mice each/experiment, 11 total/time point). The data were analyzed by ANOVA with the Tukey-Kramer test, and a value of p of 0.05 or less was considered significant. ^**p<0.01; ^***p<0.001. (B) The lung, liver, and spleens were fixed in 10% formalin, paraffin-embedded, sliced into 5μM sections, and stained with Hematoxyline and Eosin. Stained sections from mice infected with F. tularensis LVS on day 7 post-infection were observed for histopathological lesions under a light microscope (Magnification 100×). The green circles compare the extent of the lesions between wild-type and Nlrp3^−/− mice. (C) The histopathological damage in the lung, liver, and spleen was quantitated in a blinded fashion by scoring one field of view at a time. Data shown are cumulative scores from three mice and were analyzed by unpaired t-test. ^*p>0.05; ^**p>0.01; ^***p>0.001.