Figure 1
The absence of IL-13 reduces Chlamydia respiratory infection in early life and infection-induced histopathology. Infant (3-week-old) wild-type (WT) and Il13−/− BALB/c mice were infected with C. muridarum or sham-inoculated and killed 5, 10, 15 and 20 dpi (days post infection). (a) Chlamydia load in lung homogenates quantified by quantitative PCR. (b) Histopathological score of lung tissue sections. (c) Number of mucus-secreting cells (MSCs) per 100 μm basement membrane (BM). Results are presented as means±s.e.m. (sham groups n⩾4, infected groups n⩾8). * and+ represents P<0.05 between different time points in infected groups (a) or compared with sham-inoculated WT and Il13−/− mice, respectively (b, c). #P<0.05 compared with infected WT control. ifu, inclusion-forming units.
