Figure 3.

Pretreatment with rhein did not impair C. trachomatis particles. Elementary bodies of C. trachomatis were respectively co-incubated with 40 μM rhein for 12, 24, 36, or 48 h at 4°C before infection. At 48 hpi, C. trachomatis inclusions, infectivity, and inclusion areas were observed by confocal microscopy. (A) 12 h; (B) 24 h; (C) 36 h; and (D) 48 h. Images were captured at ×200 magnification. Scale bars, 100 μm. Data represent the mean ± standard deviation of triplicate samples. NS, not significant. *p< 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p< 0.001.