Fig. 7

p38 MAPK inhibition fails to protect host cells infected with other bacteria. a Effect of dexamethasone (5 µM) and doramapimod (10 µM) on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (strain PAO1F)-infected (MOI 0.5) A549 human lung epithelial carcinoma cells. Viability of A549 cells was quantified 24 h post infection using resazurin. A ΔpscC mutant deficient in secretion of T3SS effector proteins was used as a control. b Dexamethasone (5 µM) and doramapimod (10 µM) have no cytoprotective effect in BMDM infected with Listeria monocytogenes (MOI 2). Host cell viability was quantified 20 h post infection by measuring LDH in the culture medium of the infected cells. A L. monocytogenes mutant strain (Listdhly) lacking the hly gene, which encodes the virulence factor listeriolysin O, was used as a control. c Salmonella typhimurium-infected J774.2 Mφ (MOI 3) were treated with dexamethasone (5 µM) and doramapimod (10 µM). Host cell viability was quantified 48 h post infection using resazurin. Data from one of two experiments are shown in a and c; data from two experiments with multiple replicates are shown in b. Results are expressed as mean ± SEM and experiments were analyzed using unpaired t-test (ns not significant; ***p ≤ 0.001)