Figure 7: Effects of P. aeruginosa AmiE⁺ strain on acute lung injury model.

(A and B) Mice were infected with intranasal instillation of 1.10⁷ CFU of P. aeruginosa PA14 WT, PA14 EV and AmiE⁺ strains (n = 11). (A) Lethality was monitored for 96 h after P. aeruginosa infection. (B) Score disease assessed the infection severity by evaluating mouse motility, mouse temperature, aspect of fur and weight loss. (C, D and E) Mice were infected with intranasal instillation of 5.10⁶ CFU of P. aeruginosa PA14 WT, PA14 EV and AmiE⁺ strains (n = 6). (C) Lung injury reflects the integrity of alveolar-capillary barrier measuring the leakage of FITC-labeled bovine serum albumin from the serum to the lung. (D) Bacterial load in the lungs and dissemination assessed through cultured spleen or cultured lung homogenate. (E) Cells from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were counted to determine percentage distribution of immune stimulatory cells. ^★P < 0.05; ^★★P < 0.01; ^★★★P < 0.001.