Figure 6.

RV infection increases airway reactivity and inflammation in wild-type and SPT-deficient mice. SPT-deficient Sptlc2^+/− (SPT) and littermate Co mice were inoculated intranasally with RV-1B (5 × 10⁶ TCID₅₀) or mock-infected purified cell lysates. (A) Bronchial rings isolated 24 hours after infection were stimulated with increasing doses of methacholine. Shown are contractile responses expressed as the absolute force generated in millinewton (mN). (B) BAL cell composition analyzed 24 hours after infection by flow cytometry. (C) Relative lung weight 24 hours after infection. (D) From blood, total white blood cell count, and manual neutrophil and lymphocyte blood count measured before and after infection from the same mice. Data are means ± SEM or 5–8 animals per group. *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, and ***P < 0.001 (two-way ANOVA with Tukey post-test comparison). WBC = white blood cells.