Figure 1

Host parameters during colitis and recovery. (a) Weight curves of untreated (control) and DSS-treated mice. Colitis was triggered by the addition of DSS (2%) to drinking water for 5 days (red box); control mice received un-amended drinking water during the course of the experiment. Samples were taken before (day 1) and after DSS treatment (day 5), during acute colitis (day 8) and recovery (days 14 and 25) (green arrows). (b) Inflammation scores (calculated as the sum of inflammation severity and extend, and crypt depth) and area of inflammation (%). (c) Representative photomicrographs (100 × magnification) of hematoxylin and eosin-stained colon tissues obtained from each sampling date. (d) Expression ratios of pro- (IL-6, IL1-β, IFNγ and CXCL1) and anti- (IL-10) inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and markers of inflammation (iNOS) calculated relative to expression at day 1 and GAPDH. Expression ratios were calculated using REST, asterisks (*) indicate significance of expression ratios as determined using Pair Wise Fixed Reallocation Randomisation Test (Pfaffl et al., 2002). NS, not significant; ND, not detectable.