Fig. 5: Axl receptor engagement impairs early control of T. cruzi infection.

a Male WT (closed triangles), Axl^−/− (open triangles) and Mer^−/− (closed squares) mice were infected sc with T. cruzi. b Parasitemia in WT, Axl^−/− and Mer^−/− mice was followed throughout acute infection in separate experiments. The number (n) per mouse group, the means, and SEM are indicated in the figures. Significant differences between WT and Axl^−/− mice are indicated for ^*P < 0.05 as analysed by unpaired t-test in normalized data. c, d Representative micrographs of H&E- and picrosirius red-stained heart sections from infected WT, Axl^−/− and Mer^−/− mice (34 dpi). Bars: 100 µM. Arrowheads point to areas with c inflammatory cells and d fibrosis. e, f Graphs represent cell infiltrates as expressed in cells/mm² and collagen deposition (area of fibrosis) in the hearts obtained at e 15 dpi and f 34 dpi. The results represent e 1 and f 2 independent experiments. Dashed lines represent basal levels in naïve WT mice. The results are expressed as the means and SEM for each experimental group; e WT (n = 8), Axl^−/− (n = 8), and Mer^−/− (n = 6) infected mice; f WT (n = 5), Axl^−/− (n = 4), and Mer^−/− (n = 5) infected mice. Significant differences in unpaired Student’s t-tests are indicated for ^*P < 0.05, ^**P < 0.01, and ^****P < 0.0001.