Figure 5.

Reduction in LF82 colonization of the lower gastrointestinal (GI) tract in infected mice treated with hydrogel-encapsulated colicins. An E. coli LF82 murine infection model was used to assess the efficacy of the hydrogel encapsulated treatment using a combination of E9 and Ia. Day one post-bacterial challenge, mice were treated by oral administration of 200μl of colicin E9 and Ia (dose of 0.5mg each of E9 and Ia) containing hydrogel in a slurry with PBS or 200μl of colicin free hydrogel slurry (control group). (A) Experimental scheme. (B) Tukey boxplot of fecal shedding of E. coli LF82StrpR. (C) Levels of LF82StrpR strain in both control (black, n=25) and colicin treated (red, n=25) groups for the different sections of the GI tract. Statistical analysis was carried out for each subset using a Mann–Whitney test between LF82StrpR infected and colicin-treated groups. ^***p<0.0004, ^****p<0.0001.