Fig. 1: Infection dynamics in T. b. brucei infected mice.

a–d C57BL/6JRj mice were infected via the bite of a T. b. brucei AnTar1 infected G. morsitans tsetse fly. After perfusion of the vascular system, tissues were collected for RNA extraction. Parasite burdens were determined via RT-qPCR targeting the spliced leader (SL) of the parasite. RT-qPCR targeting Eef2 was performed to normalize for the amount of mouse tissue. a, b Parasite burden in the lungs, heart, spleen, kidney, brain, and gonadal adipose tissue of naturally infected mice (3 dpi: n = 3, 10 dpi: n = 4). c Parasite burdens in various segments of the lungs of three independent mice collected at 7 dpi. Absolute parasite numbers were determined via a standard curve. Created with BioRender.com. d Parasite burdens in the lungs at different time points during infection (3 dpi: n = 3, 7 dpi: n = 21, 10 dpi: n = 4, 21 dpi: n = 6). Statistical comparisons were made using Kruskal–Wallis test (two-sided) with a Dunn’s multiple comparisons test. *p = 0.0255, **p = 0.0074. Diagram was adapted from ref. 72. e Organ distribution of T. b. brucei AnTat1.1E^PpyRE9 parasites determined via bioluminescent imaging at 7 dpi in three different mice. Arrows: bioluminescent signal emitted from the lung tissue. Data are represented as means ± standard error of the mean.